RT.com
24 Nov 2022, 22:33 GMT+10
The former British prime minister had said the German government wanted Kiev to "fold" to Moscow
Germany has described a claim by former UK prime minister Boris Johnson that Berlin wanted Kiev to swiftly capitulate to Moscow as "utter nonsense."
German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit was responding on Wednesday to remarks that Johnson made to CNN, in which he suggested that Berlin wanted the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to end quickly for economic reasons.
"It is utter nonsense what Boris Johnson said," Hebestreit told journalists at a government media conference in Berlin. "We know that the very entertaining former prime minister always has his own relationship with the truth," the official added, suggesting that "this is no different in this case."
Asked by journalists if he would call Johnson a liar, Heberstreit doubled down on his previous statement, but didn't directly answer the question. "[Johnson] always has a very personal approach toward the truth," the government spokesman replied. He added that he knows this "first-hand," since he "took part in talks with the then British prime minister in Munich only a few days before the start of the war."
Earlier on Wednesday, Johnson told CNN Portugal that Germany believed "it would be better for the whole thing to be over quickly, and for Ukraine to fold" before Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine. Berlin also supported its position with "all sorts of sound economic reasons," the former British leader added.
Heberstreit shot back by saying that such a claim was simply unsupported by the facts. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his government "made a break with a decades-long national practice of not sending weapons to crisis regions and warzones," he said, adding that German military aid to Kiev was "unprecedented both in terms of quality and quantity."
Following the start of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, Germany implemented all Western sanctions against Moscow and sent massive amounts of weapons to Kiev, including both small arms and artillery, as well as air-defense systems. However, Scholz and his government were frequently criticized by both Kiev and his fellow German politicians for supposedly being reluctant to supply Ukraine with all the weapons systems it requested.
Get a daily dose of Europe Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Europe Sun.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this week it will start using artificial intelligence (AI) in all...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Citigroup must defend itself against a revived lawsuit accusing the bank of facilitating and concealing a...
Gaza Faces Imminent Famine as Aid Blockade Enters 70th Day, UN Warns The entire population of Gaza is now at critical risk of famine,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America,...
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania: People in Pennsylvania who are 21 or older could soon be allowed to legally buy and use marijuana. The state...
AUSTIN, Texas: Six people in a small Texas county have been charged with serious crimes as part of a growing election investigation...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Foreign workers have emerged as a critical force behind the euro zone's economic growth since the pandemic, offsetting...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks surged on Monday following news that the Trump administration had agreed to a 90-day reduction of...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia and the pacific have closed significantly higher following ceasefires in India-Pakistan hostilities,...
TOKYO, Japan: Toyota Motor Corp is bracing for a 21 percent decline in full-year profit, as the impact of President Donald Trump's...
HELSINKI, Finland: In response to rising geopolitical risks, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Estonia are preparing to roll out...
CHICAGO, Illinois: All U.S. airlines are feeling the impact of falling travel demand caused by President Trump's trade war. But low-cost...