Reference News Network on February 29** According to the German "Handelsblatt" **February 27**, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and France** Macron once again had communication problems.
According to the report, after the meeting on Ukraine in Paris, French Macron said that sending ground troops to Ukraine in the future is "not ruled out". This statement caught German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had just returned to Berlin, off guard, and indicated that the two could not act together in terms of European military aid to Ukraine.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the German chancellor's top rule has been to do everything possible to avoid giving the impression that NATO is a belligerent. A few hours before the meeting in Paris, he also explained why the Taurus cruise missiles were not supplied to Ukraine. He said that to supply such missiles, it would be necessary to send German troops to Ukraine, and he absolutely did not think about it. But on the same day, Macron broke this taboo.
The report notes that this is not the only incident that calls into question the unity of Germany and France. At the beginning of 2023, in the debate over whether to provide main battle tanks, Macron rushed to the front, forcing Scholz to act. The German Chancellor was opposed to the supply of main battle tanks at the time. It is believed that the personal relationship between Macron and Scholz is not good. Although they repeatedly and harmoniously praised Franco-German friendship, there were always people in private who said that the two men did not understand each other.
The report also said that Scholz had apparently annoyed Macron before the Paris meeting. He accused France of sending too little military aid to Ukraine. Germany's Kiel Institute for the World Economy calculates that Germany's military aid to Ukraine has so far been worth 17.7 billion euros, second only to the United States; With a value of 600 million euros, the French aid is only in 16th place, behind Estonia and Latvia.
But Paris countered that France had aided the Ukrainian army 3.8 billion euros over the past two years, and that it was important not only how much money was announced, but also "military effects on the battlefield".
According to the French side, the French side offers "particularly powerful", such as self-propelled howitzers and cruise missiles that can accurately hit long-range targets, while "Germany will not provide such things". This is clearly a reference to Scholz's refusal to supply Kyiv with Taurus cruise missiles.
The report mentioned that on the evening of February 26, Macron used the opportunity of being the host of the conference to ridicule him. "Many of the people who are talking about 'never never' today are the same people who said two years ago that 'never tanks' and 'never provide fighter jets'. "Everybody knows that Macron is talking about Scholz. "I remind you that two years ago, many of you said that we would provide sleeping bags and helmets. ”
Other disagreements have also become public. For example, Macron's announcement of a new "long-range missile alliance" will increase the pressure on Scholz on the Taurus cruise missile issue. (Compiled by Wang Qing).