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fullscreen Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/TT
Europe must increase its military support to Ukraine. This is claimed by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a joint press conference in Berlin.
– Many of us will have to be prepared to quickly expand our public defense budgets, says Ulf Kristersson.
According to Ulf Kristersson (M), greater determination is required on at least three key issues: military support, new economic sanctions and a strengthening of European security.
– My conviction is that Europe must act more decisively. It is crucial to increase our military support to Ukraine. It is our job to put them in as strong a military position as possible, says Kristersson to TT’s envoy.
The move comes just a few days before Donald Trump is sworn in as the new president of the United States on Monday.
Despite concerns about reduced support for Ukraine under the new president, Olaf Scholz – who has spoken to Trump twice since he won the presidential election – predicts that US support will remain firm.
– I do not expect that there will be an interruption in American support for Ukraine’s defense, says Scholz.
Scholz criticized
Chancellor Scholz received Ulf Kristersson in the German government office Bundeskanzleramt – a stone’s throw from the Reichstag in Berlin – for a visit on Friday.
The agenda included a number of security policy issues, not least the situation in Ukraine.
Second only to the US, Germany is Ukraine’s most important donor, and Scholz has also previously argued that Europe must do more.
But recently, the criticism at home has been harsh against the Chancellor after he seemingly hesitated about a new gigantic aid package – worth just over 30 billion kroner – which could thus come to naught.
“Ukraine decides”
Barely three years after the war broke out, Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, said earlier this week that the war must end.
Neither Ulf Kristersson nor Olaf Scholz dare to predict whether it will be possible to achieve peace in 2025. But both emphasize the importance that a settlement must take place on Ukraine’s terms.
– It is Ukraine that decides when the time has come for negotiations or not. No talks about Ukraine without Ukraine. We will support Ukraine as long as it is needed, says Ulf Kristersson.