Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has disputed reports from the past few days that the Chancellor’s Office, led by his SPD party colleague Olaf Scholz, is not considering a new package of weapon deliveries for Ukraine worth three billion euros ahead of the federal election. “There is no blockade” he told the “Tagesspiegel” (Monday’s edition).
“We have prepared a new aid package for Ukraine at the Defense Ministry” Pistorius confirmed to the newspaper. According to his account, however, the internal coordination of the federal government on this issue has not yet been fully completed: “This needs to be politically decided – as soon as all questions are clarified, I expect a corresponding decision.”
A report by the “Spiegel” suggests that in this case, the Budget Committee would be asked to approve an “unplanned expenditure” of three billion euros, as the military situation in Ukraine has become more unpredictable than anticipated.