BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged financial support to Ukraine during his visit to Kyiv on Monday, but ruled out sending weapons to the country to deter Russia from possible attacks.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Volodymyr Zelensky, Scholz underlined strong solidarity with Ukraine, and announced that Berlin will provide additional €150 million ($170 million) loan to support Ukraine’s economy.
“Germany stands close by your side,” he told Zelensky, adding that Berlin will continue to support Ukrainian democracy and its European path.
He urged Russia to de-escalate tensions and work for a diplomatic solution, and reiterated that Germany and its allies are prepared to impose sanctions, if Moscow commits further military aggression against Ukraine.
"In the event of a military escalation, we are prepared to impose very far-reaching and effective sanctions in coordination with our allies," he said.
“I am making it clear once again here in Kyiv that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine are non-negotiable for Germany,” he stressed.
Scholz maintained his opposition to sending weapons to Ukraine, stressing that Germany’s strict arms exports rules does not allow the government to send lethal weapons to any conflict areas.
The German chancellor also said that discussions on Ukraine’s possible membership to NATO was practically not an issue on the agenda.
"There is a conflict, we want to de-escalate. This is our task at the moment. For this purpose, there is the Normandy format, there are the Minsk agreements, there is the NATO-Russia Council and there are various formats offered by the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe),” he said.
The German Chancellor also noted that, in today’s talks in Kyiv he has seen that the Ukrainian government remains committed to the Minsk process, and ready for talks on issues of special status, constitutional amendments for a political solution to the conflict in the east of the country.
Scholz will travel to Moscow on Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to cease military buildup along Ukraine borders, and pursue a diplomatic solution to the current crisis.
Tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and the West escalated over the weekend after Western media reports claimed that Moscow could launch an attack on Ukraine on Wednesday.
Moscow recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.
Russia has denied it is preparing to invade and accused Western countries of undermining its security through NATO’s expansion towards its borders.
The Kremlin also issued a list of security demands to the West, including a rollback of troop deployments from some ex-Soviet states, and guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia would not join NATO.