Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: February 27, 2026
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German Chancellor Scholz defends Ukraine against war blame and supports its EU membership, emphasizing its sovereignty and democracy.
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed the importance of keeping the path open for Ukraine to join the European Union and rejected suggestions that the country was to blame for its invasion by Russia, in a radio interview aired on Thursday.
Asked if he shares U.S. President Donald Trump's view, in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that Ukraine was to blame for the war, Scholz told the ARD public broadcaster: "It is not. We in Europe insist on this."
For this reason, he said, the EU was keeping the door open to Ukraine as a prospective member, adding, "Ukraine must not be hindered in its decision to be a democratic, sovereign nation on its way into Europe."
In the case of a future peace settlement, Scholz said Ukraine must have a strong army, "for which we in Europe and our international and transatlantic partners share responsibility".
Europe is scrambling to find a response to Trump's policy on the war, after high-level U.S.-Russian talks sidelined Ukraine and its European backers, raising fears that the U.S. leader could make concessions to Moscow to end the war.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Friederike Heine, Madeline Chambers)
Chancellor Scholz emphasized the importance of keeping the path open for Ukraine to join the European Union, stating that Ukraine must not be hindered in its decision to become a democratic, sovereign nation.
No, Scholz rejected the notion that Ukraine is to blame for the war, asserting that it is not the case and that Europe shares responsibility for Ukraine's defense.
Scholz stated that Ukraine must have a strong army in the event of a future peace settlement, highlighting the shared responsibility of Europe and its international partners.
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