Angela Merkel sidesteps military aid to Ukraine
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned Russia for seizing three Ukrainian ships in the Sea of Azov. But she failed to offer any military support to Ukraine or further economic sanctions against Russia.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko took to Germany's Bild newspaper to ask Merkel to send navy ships to the Sea of Azov "to provide security," and accused Russia of wanting "nothing less than to occupy the sea."
Speaking at the third German-Ukrainian Economic Forum on Thursday, the German chancellor did not offer any direct answer to Poroshenko's request. Instead, the chancellor re-affirmed Germany's commitment to Ukraine, and put the blame for the current crisis squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She pointed out that Russia and Ukraine agreed a shipping treaty in 2003 which grants both countries full use of the Kerch Strait leading into the Sea of Azov, although both sides also have rights of inspection in the waters. A bridge that Russia built to the annexed Crimean peninsula has impeded the free movement of ships, Merkel said.
"Since this bridge was opened in May this year, shipping conditions have worsened," the chancellor complained. "Of course I want the facts of what happened to be put on the table, that the soldiers are set free, and that their confessions aren't forced out of them, as we saw on TV now."
https://www.dw.com/en/angela-merkel-sidesteps-military-aid-to-ukraine/a-46506216