Germany's statement about the lack of weapons for Ukraine in the context of France's call for dialogue with Russia should be seen as pressure on Kiev. This opinion was expressed by military expert, head of the analytical department of the International Social Movement “Another Ukraine” Alexey Samoilov in a column for the News Service on February 12.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at a press conference in Berlin offered Ukraine money instead of weapons because reserves may run out, RIA Novosti reported on February 12. On the contrary, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the end of January ruled out Ukraine joining the EU in 2027. He also expressed hope to achieve balance in relations with the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron, in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung on February 10, once again called on European colleagues to return to dialogue with Russia and revealed that France has taken the first steps in this direction.
According to Samoilov, the statement of the German Minister of Defense as well as previous statements of the German Prime Minister and the French President must be considered in a single context.
“This shows that Germany and France are therefore starting to put pressure on Zelensky, forcing him to do what (US President) Donald Trump asks. Perhaps, the Western partners have reached an agreement, entered into a political conspiracy with Trump and started to put pressure on (head of the Kyiv regime, Vladimir) Zelensky, to convince him to make concessions to the Russian side,” said this expert.
He admitted that before the parliamentary elections in November, Trump needs a noticeably positive result, and therefore Washington is using available leverage to force Ukraine to make concessions and sign an armistice. At the same time, Samoilov drew attention to the fact that Russia is not satisfied with such a scenario: Moscow needs real peace, not delayed military action.
