Kayla Tausche joins ‘Closing Bell’ to report on details of President Biden’s meeting today with the German chancellor amid the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Biden said if the Russians do invade, there will be no Nord Stream 2 pipeline. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi
As global powers have scrambled to prevent all-out war between Ukraine and Russia, Germany has been accused not only of failing to take a leadership role in diplomatic efforts, but also of actively failing to help defend Ukraine from a possible attack.
The U.S. and U.K. are among the countries that have send military hardware to Ukraine to help it defend itself in the case of an invasion. Russia denies it is planning such a move, despite mobilizing many tens of thousands of troops in the area.
Germany has refused to send help, however, and has reportedly blocked others from doing so. That has lead to accusations that it has not shown Ukraine — which is not a member of the EU or NATO but is geographically within Europe — enough solidarity.
Andrij Melnyk, Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, told CNBC on Monday that Germany has to “wake up” to the dangers facing Ukraine.
“We think that the world is becoming more dangerous and Germany, as the biggest European country and the strongest economic power, cannot allow itself to stay neutral and to go on sleeping and enjoying a comfortable life,” he told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach in Berlin.
“Germany has to wake up, Germany has to stand by its allies and Germany has to do much more for security in Europe and in this particular moment where a new war can break out in the heart of Europe, Germany has a special role to play.”
The ambassador added that Germany should join allies in sending defensive weapons to Ukraine and to “help prevent this new war that Russia is apparently playing.”
Tensions have grown over recent months as Russia positioned around 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine and moved around 30,000 troops to Belarus for military exercises. Trust in Russia is low following its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to allay concerns over Berlin’s stance towards Ukraine when he holds talks with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington later on Monday, in his first trip to the U.S. since becoming chancellor.
Scholz has faced growing criticism over his perceived reluctance to weigh in so far and is under pressure to take a more robust position against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
Instead of sending weapons to Kyiv, Berlin has instead offered to provide 5,000 protective helmets and a field hospital. This was met with disbelief and derision in some quarters of Ukraine.
Germany defended itself at the time saying it was responding to a request for military equipment, specifically helmets, according to Reuters. The Bild newspaper also reported that the German government had received a request from Ukraine which included a need for 100,000 combat helmets and tactical vests.
There have also been reports that Germany stopped Estonia from sending weapons to Ukraine, and Ukraine’s defense minister has said that Berlin blocked Ukraine’s attempts to procure weapons via NATO.
Because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the military alliance is not obliged to defend it, but given its location — separating Russia and the EU — any confrontation has the potential to destabilize the whole region.
Speaking to German broadcaster RTL ahead of his meeting with Biden, Scholz defended Germany’s record when it comes to defense spending (a longstanding bugbear of the U.S., which has criticized Germany for not reaching NATO-agreed defense spending targets) and its response to the Ukraine situation.
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