Lithuanian president criticises German chancellor for inaction on Russia
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has criticised Western leaders, in particular German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for not fulfilling threats of sanctions against Russia for the war it unleashed in Ukraine.
Source: Nausėda in an interview with German tabloid Bild, as reported by European Pravda
Details: When asked if Merz undermined the credibility of Europe, Nausėda replied: "Of course. It's a problem".
Quote: "And this affects not only the credibility of our sanctions, but also the credibility of all our measures against Russia and our support for Ukraine."
More details: After a visit to Kyiv last month, Merz, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, called on Russia to agree to a 30-day truce.
The leaders threatened sanctions in case of refusal. Russia ignored the call, but no new sanctions followed.
"We have often stated that we will support Ukraine and supply combat aircraft, long-range missiles and ammunition," Nausėda added. "But we are not able to fulfil these promises."
Nausėda emphasised that Ukrainians need equipment and ammunition now, not tomorrow.
Background:
After talks with US President Donald Trump, Merz emphasised the shared responsibility of Berlin and Washington to increase pressure on Russia.
During the meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, Merz avoided direct confrontation with the US president but gently emphasised that Germany stands with Ukraine.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EU tech rules not included in U.S. trade talks, EU Commission says
By Foo Yun Chee and Bart H. Meijer BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union on Monday pushed back against U.S. criticism of its landmark tech rules that many feared could be included in ongoing trade negotiations with the United States and subsequently watered down. Adopted recently, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) seeks to rein in the power of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, China's ByteDance and The Digital Services Act (DSA) requires big online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content. Both legislations have come under fire from the U.S. administration which says it unfairly targets U.S. tech companies. "The legislations will not be changed. The DMA and the DSA are not on the table in the trade negotiations with the U.S.," spokesperson Thomas Regnier told a daily news conference. He said the EU would not brook any interference from foreign governments on how it enforces its landmark rules which come with hefty fines for violations. "We are not going to adjust the implementation of our legislation based on the actions of third countries. If we started to do that, then we would have to do it with numerous third countries," Regnier said. The EU handed out its first fines to Apple and Meta earlier this year, with both risking further daily fines if regulators find that they have yet to comply with the rules in the coming months. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Kremlin, asked about US sanctions bill, suggests it would impact Ukraine peace efforts if implemented
MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Monday that it had taken note of comments made by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham who is sponsoring a tough new sanctions bill on Russia and that its backers should consider its impact on efforts to reach a peace deal on Ukraine. Graham said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday that President Donald Trump had told him that the sanctions bill - which would impose 500% tariffs on countries like China and India that buy Russian oil - should be brought forward for a vote. Graham called Trump's decision "a big breakthrough" which he said was part of efforts to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table on Ukraine and give Trump "a tool" to bring that about. He stressed however that Trump had a waiver and could decide whether or not to sign it into law if and when it passes Congress. Asked about Graham's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia was aware of the U.S. senator's stance and had taken note of his statement. "The senator's views are well known to us, they are well known to the whole world. He belongs to a group of inveterate Russophobes. If it were up to him, these sanctions would have been imposed long ago," said Peskov. "Would that have helped the (Ukraine) settlement (process)? That is a question that those who initiate such events should ask themselves."
News24
2 hours ago
- News24
Russian forces take first village in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk, Lavrov believes NATO will collapse
Russia forces have advance in Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov believes NATO could collapse amid the plan to boost spending. Germany says Putin wants Ukraine to surrender. Russian forces have taken control of the first village in the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, Russian state media and war bloggers said on Monday, after Russia took 950km 2 of territory in two months. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukrainian sources or from the Russian Defence Ministry. As Moscow and Kyiv talk of possible peace, the war has intensified with Russian forces carving out a 200km 2 chunk of Ukraine's Sumy region and entering the Dnipropetrovsk region in May. The authoritative Ukrainian Deep State map shows that Russia now controls 113 588km 2 of Ukrainian territory, up 943km 2 over the two months to 28 June. Russia's state RIA news agency quoted a pro-Russian official, Vladimir Rogov, as saying that Russian forces had taken control of the village of Dachnoye just inside the Dnipropetrovsk region. READ | One dead, 14 hurt as Russia strikes Odesa, Ukraine drones headed for Moscow shot down Russia has said it is willing to make peace but that Ukraine must withdraw from the entirety of four regions which Russia mostly controls and which President Vladimir Putin says are now legally part of Russia. Ukraine and its European backers say those terms are tantamount to capitulation and that Russia is not interested in peace and that they will never accept Russian control of a fifth of Ukraine. The areas under Russian control include Crimea, more than 99% of the Luhansk region, over 70% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, all in the east or southeast, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow planned to cut its defence spending, but that he thought a decision by NATO members to increase their own defence spending could ultimately lead to the alliance's collapse. NATO leaders on Wednesday backed a big increase in defence spending that US President Donald Trump had demanded, and said they were united in their resolve to defend each other against what they cast as a threat from Russia. Viacheslav Madiievskyi/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images Asked about remarks by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who was reported to have said that an arms race between Russia and the West could trigger the fall of President Vladimir Putin, Lavrov said he thought NATO could collapse. 'Since he is such a predictor, he probably foresees that a catastrophic increase in the budget of NATO countries, according to my estimates, will also lead to the collapse of this organisation,' Lavrov said. Putin wants Ukraine to surrender, Germany's top diplomat said on Monday as he visited Kyiv after weeks of stepped-up Russian bombardments of the country, according to AFP. Amid stalled peace talks to end the more than three-year war, 'Putin is not ceding on any of his maximalist demands - he doesn't want negotiations, he wants a capitulation,' Johann Wadephul said as he arrived in the Ukrainian capital on an unannounced visit.
