Western weapons only to be used on Ukrainian territory – German Chancellor
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that the weapons provided by Western countries to Ukraine must be used strictly on Ukrainian territory.
Source: Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform, citing Scholz during a joint press conference in Tallinn, Estonia, with the leaders of the Baltic States
Quote: "Russia invaded Ukraine. This is why Ukraine has the right to defend itself. We are supporting Ukraine, also with arms. And not only Germany, the US and many others do so too.
At the same time, it is very clear that the weapons that we have delivered can only be used on Ukrainian territory. The weapons that we deliver are supposed to be used for defending Ukrainian territory."
Details: When asked about the possibility of the hostilities moving to Russia, the heads of the Baltic states were less categorical than Scholz.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stressed that, according to the UN Charter, every country has the right to defend itself. "And this also means that Ukraine can use the weapons that have been given to them. Ukraine does not have any wish to invade Russia. That is very clear. In this case, there is one aggressor and one victim," she emphasised.
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karinš pointed out that "it’s very clear that Ukraine is not in the business of attacking Russia. Ukraine is in the business of defending its own country."
And Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonite said that "it’s quite strange to think that the war can only be in that other territory that you invaded, there might be incidents that happen on your own territory, as a matter of fact".
Background:
- In February, Olaf Scholz stated that there was a consensus with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that weapons provided by the West would not be used to attack Russian territory.
- The United States is investigating whether the US equipment received by Ukraine was indeed used during the "invasion" of the territory of Russia’s Belgorod Oblast.
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