Government statement by Scholz: "A partnership with Russia is unimaginable in the foreseeable future"

Chancellor Olaf Scholz expects a signal of cohesion and determination from the NATO summit in Madrid in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

"A partnership with Russia, as stated in the Strategic Concept of 2010, is unimaginable for the foreseeable future with Putin's aggressive, imperialist Russia," said the SPD politician on Wednesday in a government statement on the upcoming summit meetings of the European Union, the G7 group of economically strong democracies and NATO in the Bundestag in Berlin.

At the same time, the Chancellor warned against drawing the wrong conclusions.

"It would be unwise for us to denounce the NATO-Russia Founding Act," he said.

That would only play into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his propaganda.

The founding act reaffirms the very principles that Putin so blatantly violates: renouncing violence, respecting borders, the sovereignty of independent states.

Putin should be reminded of this again and again.

At the same time, Scholz assured the eastern NATO partners of Germany's full alliance solidarity against the background of the dispute between Russia and Lithuania over the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.

"We will defend every square meter of the alliance area," said the SPD politician.

From their own history, the Germans know what they owe this promise, said Scholz.

"And that's why our NATO partners in Eastern Europe can rely on Germany today.

We are going to the NATO summit next week with this commitment.” Because other allies have also committed themselves to joint responsibility for security with very specific contributions, he is firmly convinced: “The NATO summit will send out a signal of cohesion and determination.”

Germany does not just leave it at words, emphasized Scholz.

Immediately after the start of the war, additional soldiers and military capabilities such as air defense were transferred to the eastern alliance area.

An agreement had been reached with Lithuania to permanently strengthen the German presence there and to assign a robust Bundeswehr brigade to the country.

Germany will also expand its presence with air and naval forces in the Baltic Sea region and is in the process of sending soldiers to Slovakia to secure the airspace.