German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is steering his pacifist SPD party through precedent-breaking arms shipments for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, has been called on to engage in a diplomatic offensive by lawmakers.
As a consequence of the “Zeitenwende” Scholz observed, the German government boosted its military budget by an extraordinary €100 billion and shipped arms into a hot conflict for the first time ever. Parts of the SPD struggled with these measures and have now sent a letter signed by multiple MPs and MEPs to Scholz, titled “The weapons must be silent!”
“The escalation spiral must be stopped,” the letter reads, which calls for a “modus vivendi.”
Such a modus often refers to an agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace. On 22 August, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) found that Russia’s attack on Ukraine had seen 5,587 civilians killed and injured 7,890.
“With every delivery of weapons, it is important to carefully weigh up and consider where the ‘red line’ lies, which could be perceived as entering the war and provoke corresponding reactions,” the lawmakers add, specifically mentioning a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and delivering fighter jets and tanks.
“Dear God, can this party still be saved? How can one be so heartless and oblivious to history?” commented Andrij Melnyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin.
German observers reacted similarly. “It’s already starting with the capitulations. If it weren’t for the fact that some MPs and MEPs were also involved, one could ignore the nonsense,” tweeted Carlo Masala, security expert.
On Thursday (25 August), Scholz visited a training operation in Germany, where Ukrainian soldiers are trained to use Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, which will be sent to Ukraine.
The pacifist wing of the SPD, led by parliament whip Rolf Mützenich, has long been a thorn in the side of Scholz, who is not tired of repeating “Ukraine must not lose” and has ruled out peace by diktat.
Scholz confirms fresh heavy arms deliveries to Ukraine
Germany will ship additional heavy weapons worth more than €500 million to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Tuesday evening during his trip to Canada.
The promised weapon systems include three Iris-T air defence systems and twelve armoured recovery vehicles, as …
Members of European Parliament in the mix
Amongst the signatories are two EU parliamentarians of the EU-SPD, Dietmar Köster, Joachim Schuster and Constanze Krehl. Krehl is on the committee for regional development and part of the parliament’s delegation to Belarus.
Schuster is vice-chair of the EU parliament’s delegation to South Africa and a member of the ECON committee, with his latest report being one on EU-Africa trade relations as a shadow rapporteur.
Köster sits in the foreign affairs committee and delegations to Iran and the US. He is usually tasked with co-writing the parliament’s statements on the European Commission’s Bosnia-Herzegovina reports.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
