Germany’s Greens point to Ukraine for arms sales

Robert Habeck, co-chair of Germany’s Green Party,
spoke out in favor of defensive arms sales to Ukraine. In an interview with
spiegel.de published on June 4, Habeck asked why Germany was sending weapons to
Egypt, which was supplying Yemen in its war, but not Ukraine. He pointed out
that he had gone to Kyiv and had spoken with President Zelensky. “My visit was
designed to remind that the struggle of Ukraine is the struggle of Europe
itself.”

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert answered
in comments, claiming that Germany stood behind the principle of not supplying
arms to “war-torn regions”, eurointegration.com.ua reported.

James Hydzik: With the Greens currently the favorite to win Germany’s elections in
September, Habeck’s position is important, but not something that can move
governments. At best, the Greens can hope to embarrass the current government
with questions such as Habeck’s. Whether the Greens will have the power and
will to stop the completion or utilization of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline or
authorize even non-lethal military hardware such as radios and vehicles remains
to be seen.