The Bundestag of the German Parliament on Thursday approved a bill that would allow the government to send “heavy weapons” to Ukraine in the war Russia launched in February. There were 586 votes in favour, 100 against and seven abstentions.
The document, which was approved by the German media, states that, in addition to the sanctions announced in the last few months, speeding up the shipment and delivery of weapons is the “most important and effective” way to stop the Russians.
The text was widely endorsed by the opposition, including both the parties that make up the coalition supporting the government – the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). As a substitute, they voted only against the Left Party (Linke) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
On an official visit to Japan, Scholz thanked the support given by the Bundestag and reported that the government had “received a strong mandate” from parliamentarians. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Germany to abandon its decades-old pacifist policy and take drastic measures against a country that started a war.
In addition to approving arms shipments to a country in open conflict, the Germans increased their military spending to 2% of GDP.
The government is also looking for ways to reduce reliance on Russian gas and oil. This week, Berlin reported that it had managed to reduce supplies by up to 35% of the total it received from abroad – before the war this figure was over 40%.
source: Noticias
