‘Scholz and Macron’s enmity intensifies due to different approaches to Ukraine’, – Politico

The feud between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron is intensifying due to different approaches on Ukraine.

This was reported by Politico.

The publication states that after the summit of European leaders in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron began making loud statements about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.

At the same time, comments from Chancellor Olaf Scholz are extremely cautious, and he is not alone in this. On Tuesday, the leaders of several NATO countries distanced themselves from Macron’s statements, saying they have no plans to send troops to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in Germany, it is claimed that France talks a lot but does little. The Kiel Institute estimates French assistance to Ukraine at 640 million euros, while German assistance is estimated at 17.7 billion euros.

Politico writes that Macron’s recent statements contain a hidden mockery of Scholz’s caution.

“Many of those who say ‘never, never’ today were the same people who said ‘never, never tanks, never, never airplanes, never, never long-range missiles, never, never this’ two years ago,” Macron said.

Clearly referring to Germany’s offer made shortly before the start of the war to send 5000 helmets, Macron added: “I remind you that two years ago many around this table said: ‘We will offer sleeping bags and helmets’.”

However, Scholz remains adamant, especially regarding Taurus missiles, which he refuses to provide to Ukraine due to concerns about escalation in relations with Russia.