The leaders of the Weimar Triangle agreed that aid to Ukraine must be “immediate” and as intensive as possible, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said following the emergency meeting of the group’s leaders in Berlin on Friday. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosted the summit, with President Emmanuel Macron representing France.
“Today we spoke with one voice, first and foremost about the security issues of our continent, our countries, all of course in the context of war,” Tusk told the press following the conclusion of the meeting.
“We have identical opinions when it comes to assessing who bears full responsibility for the escalation of tensions, who bears full responsibility for the tragic events in Ukraine, who is the aggressor, and who deserves our absolute help,” said the head of the Polish government.
Tusk thanked the German chancellor and the French president “For the fact that without any unnecessary delay, without any of the sometimes typical political haggling or hesitation, we recognized that aid to Ukraine must be immediate and as intensive as possible.”
“We have identical opinions when it comes to assessing who bears full responsibility for the escalation of tensions, who bears full responsibility for the tragic events in Ukraine, who is the aggressor, and who deserves our absolute help,” said the head of the Polish government.
Tusk thanked the German chancellor and the French president “For the fact that without any unnecessary delay, without any of the sometimes typical political haggling or hesitation, we recognized that aid to Ukraine must be immediate and as intensive as possible.”
“We want to spend our money, we want to help in all possible ways, here and now, so that the situation of Ukraine in the coming weeks and months improves, not worsens,” he pointed out.The reports of Weimar Triangle’s death are greatly exaggerated.🇫🇷🇵🇱🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/9aPnEoKUcL
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) March 15, 2024
Transatlantic relations were also discussed at the meeting.
“I shared my thoughts with my friends after my visit to Washington. Here we also see eye to eye. Europe and we, as the Weimar Triangle, feel responsible for the best possible future of transatlantic relations, and at the same time we are aware, we draw the consequences, that no one and nothing will lift the responsibility for our security, for our future from us Europeans, so we are also convinced that regardless of different political scenarios, the stronger Europe, the greater the opportunity for Ukraine and the better the relations today and in the future also the transatlantic ones,” Prime Minister Tusk stressed.
“A strong, united Europe is a desirable, best possible partner for everyone without exception in the world, including, of course, the United States,” he added.
He also said that both Macron and Scholz had accepted his invitation to attend talks in Warsaw early this summer.
More weapons for Ukraine: Scholz
Scholz said that the Weimar Triangle is “a very important sign of our unity.”
“And unity is so important; our three countries are among those providing the most assistance to Ukraine in its fight against the imperialist aggressor, Russia. Politically, militarily, and financially. We stand close and steadfast by Ukraine’s side,” Scholz said.
“It is clear [that] we support Ukraine. It is also clear [that] we are not at war with Russia. Our common goal is and will remain to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself effectively against Russian aggression. Germany, France, Poland, together with many allies and partners in Europe and across the Atlantic are committed to this. And we will not relent in our commitment,” said the German chancellor.
Further support for Ukraine was the focus of the Friday talks in Berlin.
“We agreed on several main areas today, including that from now on we will buy even more weapons for Ukraine, namely from across the world market, which is a good improvement,” said Schold. “Secondly we will expand the production of military equipment, also through cooperation with partners in Ukraine, and thirdly we will establish a new coalition of capabilities for long-range rocket artillery within the Ramstein format.”
The Ramstein format is the informal name of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which brings together Ukraine and a coalition of over 50 countries from NATO, as well as non-NATO countries sympathetic to Ukraine from Europe and around the world.
“I shared my thoughts with my friends after my visit to Washington. Here we also see eye to eye. Europe and we, as the Weimar Triangle, feel responsible for the best possible future of transatlantic relations, and at the same time we are aware, we draw the consequences, that no one and nothing will lift the responsibility for our security, for our future from us Europeans, so we are also convinced that regardless of different political scenarios, the stronger Europe, the greater the opportunity for Ukraine and the better the relations today and in the future also the transatlantic ones,” Prime Minister Tusk stressed.
“A strong, united Europe is a desirable, best possible partner for everyone without exception in the world, including, of course, the United States,” he added.
He also said that both Macron and Scholz had accepted his invitation to attend talks in Warsaw early this summer.
More weapons for Ukraine: Scholz
Scholz said that the Weimar Triangle is “a very important sign of our unity.”
“And unity is so important; our three countries are among those providing the most assistance to Ukraine in its fight against the imperialist aggressor, Russia. Politically, militarily, and financially. We stand close and steadfast by Ukraine’s side,” Scholz said.
“It is clear [that] we support Ukraine. It is also clear [that] we are not at war with Russia. Our common goal is and will remain to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself effectively against Russian aggression. Germany, France, Poland, together with many allies and partners in Europe and across the Atlantic are committed to this. And we will not relent in our commitment,” said the German chancellor.
Further support for Ukraine was the focus of the Friday talks in Berlin.
“We agreed on several main areas today, including that from now on we will buy even more weapons for Ukraine, namely from across the world market, which is a good improvement,” said Schold. “Secondly we will expand the production of military equipment, also through cooperation with partners in Ukraine, and thirdly we will establish a new coalition of capabilities for long-range rocket artillery within the Ramstein format.”
The Ramstein format is the informal name of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which brings together Ukraine and a coalition of over 50 countries from NATO, as well as non-NATO countries sympathetic to Ukraine from Europe and around the world.
Finally, Chancellor Scholz added that “we will also strengthen our support within the EU,” to which end “we took very important decisions in Brussels this week, the European Peace Facility will receive 5 billion euros to provide further military support to Ukraine this year and to strengthen the EU training mission.”
“In addition, in terms of windfall profits from Russian assets that are frozen in Europe, we will use them to financially support the purchase of weapons for Ukraine,” Scholz added.
Continued support for Ukraine for as long as it takes: Macron
“We have a coherent approach to the conflict in Ukraine,” French President Macron stressed.
“We will do whatever is necessary and for as long as it takes to prevent Russia from winning the war against Ukraine. We will continue our support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes,” he assured.
“In addition, in terms of windfall profits from Russian assets that are frozen in Europe, we will use them to financially support the purchase of weapons for Ukraine,” Scholz added.
Continued support for Ukraine for as long as it takes: Macron
“We have a coherent approach to the conflict in Ukraine,” French President Macron stressed.
“We will do whatever is necessary and for as long as it takes to prevent Russia from winning the war against Ukraine. We will continue our support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes,” he assured.
At the same time, he stressed that “we will never take any initiative that tends toward escalation,” but also that all three leaders “share a common conviction that our security and future are at stake in the game of what is happening in Ukraine,” echoing PM Tusk’s words.
During the conference, the French leader also recalled the agreements made on February 26 in Paris after multilateral plenary talks on the war in Ukraine and support for the country.
“There will already be a meeting of our defense ministers next week to discuss operational issues. We want to continue to make progress in terms of mentioning our defense and our assistance,” said the French president.
During the conference, the French leader also recalled the agreements made on February 26 in Paris after multilateral plenary talks on the war in Ukraine and support for the country.
“There will already be a meeting of our defense ministers next week to discuss operational issues. We want to continue to make progress in terms of mentioning our defense and our assistance,” said the French president.
Source: PAP, TVP World
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