Green Party senior politician supported the idea of weapons deliveries to Ukraine.


Green party leader Robert Habeck, who is in opposition, has agreed that Germany should provide more help to Kiev in its fight with Moscow-supported terrorists.

From my point of view, it is hard for us to deny Ukraine weapons for defense, for self-defense, stated Mr. Habeck, who is visiting Ukraine.

In Tuesday's edition of the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, an author of the article quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Chancellor Angela Merkel has done a lot for Ukraine but “of course I had hoped for more from her, particularly in the Normandy format” of four-way talks between Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

Green Party leader's comments drew widespread criticism in Germany in an election year, not least from his own party, which has pacifist roots.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas firmly rejected the idea of weapons deliveries, while highlighting Germany’s support for Ukraine in diplomacy and in bilateral aid.

I am convinced that the conflict can only be solved by political channels, and that should be clear to all involved, he told reporters in Berlin. This remains the guiding principle of our engagement, and it won’t change — weapons deliveries don’t help in this.

Ukraine also strongly opposes the completion of a new Russian-built natural gas pipeline to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

Mr. Habeck's Greens have opposed Russian The Nord Stream 2 project. Until Joe Biden was elected, the United States have also tried to stop the LNG pipeline construction.

But the Biden administration opted last month not to punish the company overseeing the project even while announcing new sanctions against Russian companies and ships. The move eased a long-running irritant in German-U.S. relations.