Biden: Germany in ‘very difficult’ situation amid support for Ukraine
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After the US President Joe Biden met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he comments on Germany's difficult situation, especially with the increasing defense spending and the diversifying away from Russian energy sources.
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President Joe Biden meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 3, 2023 (AP)
Germany is in a very difficult domestic situation amid the consequences of its support for Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said on Friday after his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"I know it’s not been easy. Very difficult for you," the White House quoted Biden as saying.
Biden mentioned Germany's political challenges, such as increasing defense spending and diversifying away from Russian energy sources, as per the White House.
Read: War in Ukraine cost Germany $106.7bln in 2022
Scholz and Biden's meeting comes after the US and Germany's coinciding decisions to provide Ukraine with Abrams and Leopard battle tanks.
Scholz was purportedly reluctant to provide Leopards except if Biden agreed to send US-made Abrams tanks.
The two leaders are also meeting after investigative journalist Seymour Hersh's report detailing the US’ alleged involvement in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, which provided a substantial amount of gas to Germany.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov criticized a day later the sloppy handling of the news by Western media by saying that the article by investigative writer Seymour Hersh about Washington's complicity in the Nord Streams explosions did not make the rounds in Western media, which is surprising.
The White House responded and dismissed the claims as "false and complete fiction."
It is worth noting that Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection, and Sport spokesperson Lorenz Frischknecht revealed that Germany has requested to buy back a number of Leopard 2 tanks from Switzerland.
Equivocally, Arne Collatz, a spokeswoman for the German Defense Ministry, confirmed that Germany had intentions of buying Leopard 2 combat tanks from Switzerland to accommodate the deficit in Leopard tanks in the arsenal of the german army following the massive outflux of lethal aid from Berlin to Kiev; however, the number of Leopard 2 tanks intended to be purchased is still unknown. Seeming to anticipate any provocative misinterpretation of the purchases, the spokesperson then emphasized that these tanks will not be sent to Ukraine but are rather intended for the German arsenal.
Back in January, Germany sent 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after being repeatedly pushed to do so by some of its EU and NATO allies.
The German army has already given up most of its Leopard tanks of older designs and exported them to Turkey, Greece, and Denmark, among other clients.
