Germany’s clear no to arms deliveries to Ukraine is not well received by the eastern allies in particular. At home, however, the federal government has a lot of support for its position.
A clear majority of Germans are against the delivery of German arms to Ukraine.
In a survey conducted by the YouGov polling institute, 59 percent of respondents agreed with the federal government’s stance against providing the country with weapons to defend against a possible attack by Russia. Only 20 percent were in favor of arms deliveries. 21 percent did not provide any information.
Among other things, Ukraine is demanding warships and air defense systems from Germany for defense purposes. So far, the federal government has only promised 5,000 military protective helmets. Ukraine has criticized this as a “purely symbolic gesture”. The ambassador in Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, spoke of a “drop in the ocean”. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko even called the commitment an “absolute joke”.
Both Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) have ruled out the delivery of lethal weapons. This Thursday, the Bundestag is debating the Ukraine crisis and Germany’s role in efforts to de-escalate with Russia.
No to arms exports weakest among Greens and FDP voters
The majority of voters from all parties represented in the Bundestag rejected the delivery of arms. This attitude is most pronounced among supporters of Die Linke (71 percent) and AfD (67 percent). They are followed by the voters of the largest governing party, the SPD (61) and the largest opposition party, the CDU/CSU (56). Supporters of the Greens (55) and the FDP (54) have the least resistance to arms deliveries.
Germany is involved in the diplomatic efforts of the conflict primarily through the so-called Normandy format. These are deliberations of government representatives from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany. The aim is to implement the so-called Minsk agreement, which is intended to bring peace between the pro-Russian separatists and government troops in eastern Ukraine. There has been no progress for years. On Wednesday, however, after months of radio silence, the negotiations were initially resumed by the foreign policy advisors to the heads of state and government.
Majority for stronger German commitment in the crisis
In the YouGov survey, a majority of 52 percent is in favor of Germany becoming more involved in the crisis. Above all, the supporters of the Greens (70 percent) and the SPD (60 percent) are of this opinion. Only among AfD voters is the rejection of stronger German involvement predominant (59 percent against).
61 percent think Scholz should travel to Moscow as soon as possible to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine crisis – above all voters from the left (79 percent), the SPD and the Greens (71 percent each) . Scholz has only spoken to Putin once since he took office on December 8th.
Sympathies for Nord Stream 2 prevail
In the case of the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2, the sympathies for commissioning outweigh the Germans. 47 percent support the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, 33 percent tend to reject it. 19 percent do not provide any information.
When asked whether the pipeline should be an instrument of sanctions in a Russian attack on Ukraine, there is no clear answer. 43 percent are for consequences for the pipeline in an emergency. 33 percent are still against it. There is only a majority for Nord Stream 2 as a sanction instrument among voters from the Greens (63 percent) and the SPD (54 percent).
In the event of a Russian attack, the German government has put all the options on the table, but has not defined more precisely what that can actually mean. However, Scholz and Baerbock have made it clear that stopping Nord Stream 2 can be an option.
Source From: Stern
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