On his trip to Latin America, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) reacted with incomprehension to the debate in Germany about the delivery of combat aircraft to Ukraine.

When asked about the statements made by SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken, he said at a press conference in Santiago de Chile that it was "idiosyncratic" that this debate was being held.

"Everything has now been said about this, including me." Some people have to ask themselves why the question arises, "when it's about helping the Ukrainians".

A serious debate is necessary and not a "bidding war" in which domestic political motives may be in the foreground instead of support for Ukraine.

Matthias Wysuwa

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Johannes Leithauser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Scholz again pointed out that shortly after the war began, he and American President Joe Biden ruled out a no-fly zone because this could lead to a conflict between NATO and Russia.

"Such nonsensical requests" as the deployment of ground troops were also rejected.

No “naval armaments” for Ukraine

In Berlin, a government spokeswoman added that Germany would not deliver any naval armaments to Ukraine.

Previously, the former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, asked Germany to deliver submarines to his country in addition to Tornado and Eurofighter fighter jets.

She summarizes such requests "under the warning of an outbidding competition," said the spokeswoman.

Scholz had clearly warned of that.

At the weekend, SPD leader Saskia Esken avoided the question of whether she could rule out the delivery of combat aircraft to Kyiv, answering that "it is very important that Germany and NATO do not become a party to the war."

Esken also said it is crucial to keep reassessing the situation and making it clear to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin "that we reject Russian aggression."

The federal government is acting in close coordination with the United States in all steps.

Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) also made no commitment.

Considerations as to whether the Bundeswehr has to hand over aircraft are "hypothetical questions" to which he does not answer, he said on Monday during a visit to the Bundeswehr Operations Command in Geltow near Potsdam.

Incidentally, "as far as I know, the Federal Chancellor said everything that needs to be said," Pistorius continued.

Scholz against "return to the law of the strongest"

The foreign policy spokesman for the Union faction in the Bundestag, Jürgen Hardt, warned the federal government against imposing red lines on itself when supplying arms to Ukraine.

Hardt said that "excluding anything only benefits the Kremlin".

For Germany, "the military needs of Ukraine should be our point of reference".

The chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, advocated in no uncertain terms the delivery of combat aircraft to Ukraine if this was necessary for its warfare.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's former foreign policy adviser said on television on Sunday that he considered the delivery of fighter jets "adequate" to better protect Ukraine from Russian attacks.

Either aircraft of Soviet design, such as those used by the NATO member state Poland, or American F-16 fighter jets would be suitable.

The talks that Scholz held with the presidents of Chile and Argentina also dealt with the war in Ukraine.

Scholz expressed his gratitude for the course of rejection of Russian aggression.

"It must not be accepted that, as in the worst imperialist times, a large country tells its smaller neighbor that it wants to appropriate part of its territory," he said in Chile.

"As democracies, we must therefore stand together worldwide and prevent a return to the rule of law."