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\nGerman Chancellor Merz (first from right) and visiting Ukrainian President Zelenskiy (second from right) hold a press conference Sunday. Visual China<\/p>\n
German Chancellor Merz on the 28th, announced that Germany will support the Ukrainian production of long-range weapons after the Russian fierce criticism. Merz did not say whether to provide Ukraine with the \u201cTaurus\u201d cruise missiles that can hit targets in Russian territory, but he said in a question on German television 2 on the evening of 28, do not rule out the possibility. Russian foreign minister Lavroff said in a media interview the same day, the German \u201cClearly directly involved in the war.\u201d. The vice-chairman of the FSC Dmitry Medvedev that Germany had \u201cBecome the enemy of Russia again\u201d. Russian satellite news agency quoted experts as saying that if Ukraine uses German missiles to attack the Russian mainland, will also intensify the conflict between Russia and NATO. Lavroff \u201cInvited\u201d the Ukrainians to a second round of direct talks in Turkey on June 2, just hours after Mertz pledged aid on June 28, the Associated Press reported.<\/p>\n
\nGerman Chancellor Merz (first from right) and visiting Ukrainian President Zelenskiy (second from right) hold a press conference Sunday. Visual China<\/p>\n
The beginning of\u201cA new type of military-industrial cooperation\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Ukrainian President Zelenskiy in Berlin on the 28th, Mertz said that Germany will provide financial support to the Ukrainian side to help it produce long-range missiles on Ukrainian soil, this represents the beginning of\u201cA new type of military-industrial cooperation\u201d between Germany and Ukraine, which\u201cHas great potential\u201d. According to Merz, the weapons have no range limits and can be used by Ukrainian forces against Russian military targets. German defense ministry later confirmed that the two sides have signed an agreement worth about 5.7 billion U. S. dollars, Germany to support Ukraine’s production of long-range weapons.<\/p>\n
Some analysts believe that in view of the highly sensitive issue of supplying the german-made Taurus cruise missile directly to Ukraine, the Mertz government seems to have decided to move some of the production lines of long-range weapons directly to Ukraine, this may be what Merz calls \u201cA new kind of military-industrial co-operation\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Taurus cruise missile has a range of 500 kilometers and can fly at low altitude. Ukraine has been calling on the German government to provide the cruise missile to boost its military significantly, but Merz’s predecessor, Scholtz, explicitly rejected it during his administration. In a recent media interview, Merz said restrictions on the range of weapons used to aid Ukraine had been lifted. Public opinion that his relevant statements or for Germany to Ukraine to provide\u201cTaurus\u201d cruise missiles to pave the way. But according to POLITICO Europe, Klingbeil, the German deputy chancellor, Finance Minister and SPD leader, denied this week that there had been a change in policy, this could presage a rift between the ruling partners on the issue.<\/p>\n
Germany’s latest move to aid Ukraine has drawn strong criticism from Russia. Russian president’s Press Secretary Peskov criticized Merz on the 28th for sabotaging diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russian-ukrainian conflict. On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Lavroff told Russian media that Germany \u201cIs sliding down the same slope that led it to collapse twice in the last century.\u201d. He said he hoped responsible politicians in Germany would finally come to the right conclusion and\u201cStop the madness\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Dmitry Medvedev of Russia’s Federal Security Council warned on Sunday that \u201cAny decision\u201d would be taken to respond to an attack by a German long-range weapon on the Russian mainland. Germany, he said, had in effect become\u201cFully engaged in military conflict\u201d. Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Duma, said on the 28th that Mertz was \u201cPrepared to put the security of the European continent at risk\u201d and that Germany was directly involved in the conflict with Russia, the consequences could be \u201cDevastating and World War III for Europe\u201d. Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russian television today, said on social media that the Russian government is discussing the possibility of a Taurus cruise missile attack on Moscow, \u201cWe have no choice but to hit Berlin.\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe red line is being redrawn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since taking office, Merz has signaled a change of approach from his predecessor, Scholtz, Bloomberg said Tuesday. With Washington’s support for Ukraine waning and diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russian-ukrainian conflict stalling, Germany may try to push for a greater European role. The Austrian tabloid newspaper commented that Mertz’s assertiveness in German foreign policy was already evident. He is introducing new guidelines, \u201cThe Red Line is being redrawn.\u201d. But not everyone in Germany agrees with him.<\/p>\n
German newspaper Bild commented on the 29th that since Merz took office, there has been no progress in German support for Ukraine except for tough words and a long-awaited EU sanctions package, but after Zelenskiy’s visit, that seems to have changed. However, the news from the joint press conference, about the new aid measures are also vague, such as did not disclose the specific weapons systems to aid Ukraine. Wagner, a green party foreign policy expert, said Merz’s statement of intent was \u201cMore than substance\u201d. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said Merz’s comments were good for the Russians, who would portray the Europeans as \u201cThe real problem\u201d.<\/p>\n
The satellite news agency quoted Lebanese international relations expert Karaki as saying on the 29th that, merz’s comments on the long-range missile were \u201cNothing more than a media game, an attempt to jump into the last car of an departing train with no real prospect\u201d. He said European countries that provide military aid to Ukraine gain neither geopolitical influence nor economic benefit, and important decisions about a solution remain in Washington’s hands.<\/p>\n
Russia proposed a second round of talks on June 2<\/p>\n
Within hours of Mertz’s promise to Kiev, Lavroff \u201cPublicly invited\u201d the Ukrainians to direct talks in Istanbul on June 2, according to the Associated Press. In a statement posted on the Russian foreign ministry website, Lavroff said that the Russian side quickly formulated a memorandum of understanding on the peace agreement in accordance with the consensus reached in the talks between the two sides, to clarify its position on the proper resolution of issues related to the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine. A delegation led by assistant to the Russian president, Dmitry Mekinsky, was ready to submit the memorandum and make the necessary clarifications to the Ukrainian delegation during the second round of negotiations.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian Defense Minister Umerov said on social media on the evening of the 28th that Ukraine had submitted documents reflecting Ukraine’s position to Mekinsky, but Russia was still \u201cDelaying\u201d the submission of relevant documents. Ukraine expects Russia to produce a memorandum as soon as possible to ensure that the follow-up meeting will not become\u201cEmpty talk.\u201d. \u201cWhy wait until next Monday?\u201d asks UFO Foreign Minister Serbiga. Tikhy, a spokesman for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, said on the 29th that Russia’s reluctance to hand over the memo indicated that the document was likely to be \u201cFilled with unrealistic ultimatums\u201d and that Moscow was \u201cAfraid of revealing that it is stalling the peace process\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to the TASS news agency, Peskov said on the 29th that Ukraine’s request for Russia to immediately submit a draft memorandum of understanding is completely unconstructive.<\/p>\n
Russia, \u201cMilitary Observation Network\u201d 29, said that there is analysis that the Ukrainian authorities in the second round of negotiations on the eve of creating contradictions, trying to promote the United States and Europe to increase pressure on Russia and sanctions. Asked at the White House whether he thought Putin wanted to end the war, president Donald Trump said, \u201cI’ll tell you in about two weeks,\u201d the BBC reported. The BBC commented that Donald Trump appeared to have set a two-week \u201cDeadline\u201d for resolving the Ukrainian issue. But CNN (CNN) — \u201cAccording to Donald Trump, a solution to the Ukrainian problem always takes another two weeks.\u201d. Donald Trump has been telling reporters since at least the end of April that he would decide in two weeks what to do with the country. He used the phrase repeatedly, hinting that he would soon make a final assessment of the follow-up. How to end the Russian-ukrainian conflict has been one of the main challenges of Donald Trump’s presidency, the article said. The conflict proved more difficult to resolve than he had expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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