“Day after day, Putin inflicts horrific suffering and death on the people of Ukraine. And he is inflicting death on his own people, too,” said Scholz before his talks with Stoltenberg on Thursday. “Unfortunately, we have seen the Russian President turn down all peaceful options for conflict resolution,” stressed Scholz.

Support for Ukraine

Germany stands firmly alongside Ukraine, helping the people in Ukraine financially, with humanitarian aid and with military equipment. “The urgent task now is to silence the guns as quickly as possible,” said Scholz.

The Federal Chancellor made it clear once again that NATO would not intervene in the war with military means. However, the war is having consequences for NATO, too. The core task of the Alliance is to ensure the security of all its members. All measures are geared towards this purpose. “We have already taken numerous decisions within NATO to actively support our eastern allies in the current situation,” said Scholz, adding that Germany was making its contribution and was still prepared to do everything necessary.

Additional financial resources

To further strengthen the Alliance, the Federal Government has decided to make additional investments in deterrence and defence. This includes the Special Federal Armed Forces Fund with a volume of 100 billion euros. Germany will invest two percent of its gross domestic product in defence, thereby fulfilling the agreements concluded at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales. NATO member states are due to discuss further measures at the NATO summit in Brussels on 24 March 2022.

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will also hold talks with Stoltenberg during his stay in Berlin.