Ukraine foreign minister urges Berlin for quick arms delivery decision

BERLIN (Reuters) – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Germany to make a quick decision on weapons delivery to Ukraine, saying Kyiv was counting on Berlin’s leading role in Europe.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Germany to stage a historic reversal of its policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones, with Berlin promising to supply Kyiv with anti-tank weapons and missiles.

But the Ukrainian government has been frustrated by delays in delivery due to several ministries’ approvals required for consignments of arms exports which have to be coordinated by the Federal Chancellery.

“I hope that (German Chancellor Olaf) Scholz will make a positive decision,” Kuleba told broadcaster ARD, according to the text of an interview released ahead of its showing later on Thursday.

He said arguments justifying why weapons could not be delivered were not valid and did not take reality into account, adding that the war could have been avoided if Germany had permitted arms deliveries sooner.

Kuleba called on Germany to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons and to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow such as an embargo on Russian oil.

“Germany is a leading nation in Europe and so are we are counting on this leading role,” he added.

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by David Holmes)