Germany vows to keep providing weapons to Ukraine

By Bahattin Gonultas

BERLIN (AA) – Germany will continue to provide weapons to Ukraine for as long as necessary, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday.

In his speech at the Federation of German Industries’ (BDI) Industry Day, Scholz said: "One thing is clear, we will continue to send weapons to Ukraine for as long as it needs our support."

Also, he stressed that his country stands by Lithuania and other eastern allies.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis Thursday traveled to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in a historic visit to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and announced their support for granting Ukraine “immediate EU candidate status.”

In the early days of Russia's war on Ukraine, Germany faced criticism at home and abroad for reluctance to send heavy battlefield weapons to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, touching upon the importance of renewable energies and energy conversion, Scholz said Germany plans to increase the share of renewable energies to 80% by 2030.

While it is seen that Germany is more dependent on Russian oil and natural gas than other European countries, the country met 55% of its pre-war natural gas needs from Russia. Germany has recently reduced this share to 35%.