Meeting in Brazil: Scholz renews aid commitment to Ukraine before the G20 summit

Before the G20 summit in Brazil, Chancellor Olaf Scholz reaffirmed Germany’s willingness to support Ukraine in its defensive battle against Russia for as long as necessary. “It must be clear to Putin that playing for time will not work,” the SPD politician told the Brazilian newspaper “Folha de Sao Paulo.” At the same time, he defended German arms exports to Israel, which have been sharply criticized by many countries. Israel has the right to defend itself, he told the newspaper. “Our Israeli partners can rely on Germany’s solidarity. This also includes ensuring Israel’s defense capability, for example by supplying weapons and armaments.”

Scholz arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday evening (local time) for the two-day summit of leading economic powers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva does not want to make the Ukraine war an official summit topic and has deliberately not invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. G20 member Russia is represented by Foreign Minister Lavrov.

While Scholz was in the air, media reports revealed that US President Joe Biden had allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles against certain targets in Russia. Scholz has so far rejected the delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers to Ukraine.

He conducted the interview with the Brazilian newspaper before the decision was announced. In it he again called for a peace conference with Russia taking part. “We can only achieve peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law. That will require enormous efforts,” said the SPD politician. On Friday, Scholz spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in almost two years in preparation for the G20 summit, but was criticized by Zelensky for doing so.