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Western weapons should be used only on the territory of Ukraine

May 27, 2023

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reaffirmed his position that Western weapons provided to Ukraine should be used for defense purposes on the territory of our country.

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Scholz said this in Tallinn at a joint press conference with the leaders of the Baltic states, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Russia attacked Ukraine, so Ukraine has the right to defend itself. We also support Ukraine with weapons. Not only Germany and the United States are doing this, but many other countries are doing so. At the same time, it is clear that the weapons we supply should be used only on the territory of Ukraine... They are intended for defensive use on Ukrainian soil," the German Chancellor emphasized, answering a question about the possibility of transferring hostilities to Russia.

In her turn, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas reminded that according to the UN Charter, every country has the right to self-defense: "This means that the country must have means of defense. This means that Ukraine can use the weapons it has been given. Ukraine has no desire to invade Russia. This is clear. There is an aggressor and a victim here."

Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karinsh emphasized: "It is absolutely clear that Ukraine is not going to attack Russia. Ukraine wants to defend its own country."

At the same time, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonite noted that "it is quite strange to think that the war is taking place exclusively in the occupied territory, so sometimes incidents occur on the aggressor country's territory."

She also commented on Ukraine's expectations for the July NATO summit in Vilnius.

"No country that wants to join the Alliance can be simply refused. But we are talking about a specific situation, about conditions. There is a hot war in Ukraine right now. Of course, it would be very unfortunate if the outcome of the Vilnius summit could be read as a victory for Russia, blocking Ukraine's path to NATO. It is important that the participants of the summit find the right words and indicate the right way to pay tribute to this," the politician said.
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Šimonite also expressed hope that the democratic West would never get used to the horrific images of war. And it will never "get tired of helping Ukraine fight Russian imperialist madness; otherwise, Russia will spread even further into Europe." According to her, the Euro-Atlantic community must understand that Russia is preparing for a long confrontation with NATO and the democratic world, so it is extremely important to strengthen the Alliance's security, enhance its defense capabilities and allocate adequate funding for this.

"The new geopolitical situation and the threat from Russia mean that we no longer have the luxury of moving gradually. Decisions must be made quickly and boldly," Šimonite emphasized, adding that this is especially true for the Baltic states.
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Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 27/05/2023

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