France, Germany, Poland to hold urgent talks on Ukraine in Berlin
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A Ukrainian artillery crew firing towards Russian positions in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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BERLIN – The leaders of France, Germany and Poland will hold urgent talks on Ukraine in Berlin on March 15, Warsaw and Berlin said, as they seek to scrape together additional support for Kyiv.
The talks come on the heels of a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Polish leaders in Washington, shortly after the United States leader announced an emergency stopgap package for Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was “of great importance” that the three countries of the so-called Weimar Triangle meet to discuss the war in Ukraine.
“We must do everything we can to organise as much support as possible for Ukraine,” Mr Scholz said at a Berlin press conference alongside Thai Premier Srettha Thavisin.
Mr Scholz said the Weimar Triangle, a diplomatic format for French, German and Polish cooperation established in 1991, was “an important format for political exchange”.
Poland, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, has repeatedly urged its Western partners to increase their spending on military aid as Kyiv fends off a Russian invasion.
“In my opinion, these three capitals have the task and the power to mobilise all of Europe” to provide Ukraine with fresh aid, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told state broadcaster TVP late on March 13 from Washington.
Relations between the allies have been strained by Germany’s refusal to send long-range Taurus missiles
The issue has been a particular source of tension urged allies not to be “cowards” in supporting Ukraine.
The German and French leaders would have a bilateral meeting in Berlin before the three-way summit with Mr Tusk, Mr Scholz’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said at a regular press conference on March 13.
Mr Scholz and Mr Macron had “talked to each other at length on the phone” in recent days, Mr Hebestreit said.
Mr Scholz himself was keen to dispel any notion of a rift with Mr Macron.
“Emmanuel Macron and I have a very good personal relationship,” Mr Scholz told reporters, adding that he placed great value on the “German-Franco friendship”.
The Chancellor has not, however, changed his position on the delivery of Taurus missiles.
Mr Scholz argues that the deployment of the long-range missiles would involve German soldiers directly in the conflict and therefore risk an escalation.
The issue centred on “where will be targeted... where will be hit”, Mr Scholz said, in the German Parliament on March 13.
“That should not happen with German soldiers,” Mr Scholz said.
“I have the responsibility to prevent Germany from becoming involved in this war,” he said. AFP
