Scholz holds back
Poland urges NATO perspective for Ukraine
06/13/2023, 12:42 am
Ukraine is hoping for concrete prospects to ensure its security when Russia’s war of aggression eventually ends. At a meeting with Chancellor Scholz and French President Macron, Poland’s head of state Duda appealed not to put off negotiations on NATO accession.
Germany, France and Poland are discussing long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz met French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Head of State Andrzej Duda in Paris. Before the joint deliberations, Duda appealed: “Ukraine is waiting for a clear signal regarding a clear prospect of membership in NATO.” This is the expectation of the Ukrainian leadership and the soldiers defending the country attacked by Russia. He hopes that the forthcoming NATO summit in Vilnius will bring the “light at the end of the tunnel” that Ukraine is longing for.
Scholz said the main efforts are currently aimed at supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia. “We will continue to do this for as long as it is necessary, we are prepared for that,” said the SPD politician. Nevertheless, the intensive debate about security guarantees makes sense, said the Chancellor. “We’re going to continue doing that very intensively and it will be finished when there is a joint result of the talks. But one thing is clear: we need something like this, and we need it in a very concrete form.” Macron was also more reserved than Duda. They want to talk about “NATO support for Ukraine, to give it all the perspectives it is entitled to.” He hopes that the upcoming NATO summit will make it possible to chart a path and develop a clear vision for the future of collective security.
Macron: Negotiations after a successful counter-offensive
At the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11 and 12, Ukraine wants to get concrete prospects of being admitted to the defense alliance. However, important allies are slowing down. For the presumably long transition period, there are discussions about upgrading the existing NATO-Ukraine Commission to a new NATO-Ukraine Council. Such a joint advisory forum would be an important step towards being able to discuss key security issues with Ukraine on an equal footing.
Macron also said Ukraine’s counter-offensive began a few days ago and is expected to last several months. France has recently increased the supply of arms and ammunition and is still delivering. “There is this counter-offensive. We want it to be as successful as possible so that we can then trigger a negotiation phase under good conditions,” said Macron. The Russian war of aggression is already a strategic and geopolitical failure for Russia.
The tripartite meetings between Germany, France and Poland are called the “Weimar Triangle”. The discussion format was founded in August 1991 by the then Foreign Ministers Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Roland Dumas and Krzysztof Skubiszewski in Weimar, Thuringia. Initially, it served primarily to bring Poland and other Eastern European states closer to the European Union and NATO. Macron emphasized that the current situation in Ukraine requires continued close cooperation between the three countries and a joint search for answers. This also contributes to the unity and determination of Europe.