"Coalition of capabilities"

Scholz: More weapons for Ukraine with immediate effect

Macron, Scholz and Tusk (from left) met in Berlin as part of the "Weimar Triangle".(Bild: AP)

According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany, France and Poland have agreed on more intensive cooperation in providing military support to Ukraine. France's President Emmanuel Macron emphasized on Friday that they "never want to take the initiative to escalate".

"Among other things, we will procure even more weapons for Ukraine with immediate effect - on the entire global market," said Scholz after a meeting of the so-called Weimar Triangle in Berlin. The three countries had also agreed on a "capability coalition for long-range missile artillery".

"Don't let Russia win"
"All three of us are determined not to let Russia win," said Macron. Together with Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, he shared the conviction that Europe's security was ultimately at stake in Ukraine. "All three of us are serious about our support for Ukraine," Scholz also emphasized. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk explained: "Today we spoke with one voice, primarily on issues of security for our continent, for our countries, and all of this, of course, in connection with the war."

Macron, Scholz and Tusk (from left) met in Berlin as part of the "Weimar Triangle".(Bild: AP)

"Doing everything that is necessary"
"We will do everything that is necessary and for as long as it is necessary," added Macron with regard to support for Ukraine. The top-level meeting had primarily served to push forward several initiatives addressed at the Paris Ukraine Conference at the end of February.

In particular, Macron mentioned cooperation in cyber defense, demining and support for Moldova. He also referred to the purchase of ammunition on the global market, the joint production of armaments on Ukrainian soil and the coalition for the delivery of medium and long-range missiles, which had already been announced in Paris.

Debate about ground troops sparked
The proposals from the Paris conference received little attention because Macron subsequently sparked a debate about the possible deployment of Western ground troops. This led to an indirect but fierce exchange of blows between Paris and Berlin.

In Berlin, Macron made a visible effort to demonstrate unity with Scholz and Tusk. He reiterated his desire to "work immediately on the means by which we can finance support for Ukraine", an allusion to the debate on the resumption of joint debt.