Olaf Scholz rejects Vladimir Putin's 'preposterous' comparisons to German tanks

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on February 3, 2023. He rejects Vladimir Putin's comparisons of German tanks in Ukraine with the Third Reich.

© Michael Sohn/AP

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1 min

In an interview this Sunday with the weekly

, Olaf Scholz returns to Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks comparing the Third Reich and present-day Germany.

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With our correspondent in Berlin,

"

" launched Vladimir Putin during the

, the central victory of the Soviet Union against the Nazi army, Thursday, February 2, 2023. The Russian President thus once again drew a parallel between the Third Reich and the Germany of today.

In

, Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects the words of the Russian leader: "

 ".

This weight of the past remains omnipresent.

In Germany,

, politics in the East, has long been focused on the relationship with Moscow.

And for some, the crimes of Nazism explain why a special relationship must exist with Russia.

A duty of reparation towards the Ukrainians

However, the responsibility of Germany with regard to Ukraine, central victim of the Third Reich, is just as important and justifies the solidarity of Berlin today with kyiv, emphasizes more and more voices.

The British historian Timothy Garton Ash recently pointed out that the lesson of history is that German tanks must be used today to protect the Ukrainians, the main victims of Hitler and Stalin.

►Also listen: Geopolitics - Heavy tanks for Ukraine: how far will Western military commitment go?

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• Germany

• Defense

• Olaf Scholz

• Russia

• Ukraine

• Vladimir Poutine