German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reacted with irritation to Polish President Andrzej Duda's idea of confiscating frozen Russian assets in the EU, the Financial Times reports.
According to the publication, this happened on Wednesday at a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. The Polish president proposed the confiscation and spending of Russian assets worth 260 billion euros.
„You don't understand how this will affect the stability of our financial markets. You don't even use the euro!“ - the publication quotes the Chancellor's reaction.
As the article states, Scholz was irritated that Duda had returned to an idea that had already been rejected by Berlin several times.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius once again did not rule out the participation of German troops in a possible "peacekeeping mission" in Ukraine, but assured that they would not be there as long as the conflict continues.
“I want to make one thing clear: until the war is over, there will be no German soldiers on Ukrainian soil“, the minister said in an interview with the Funke media group.
“The issue will be raised when a ceasefire is established or peace is achieved and when it becomes clear what that will look like. This should be agreed between Ukraine and Russia with the participation of a third party," Pistorius assured.
"For example, will there be a demarcation line, a buffer zone or a peacekeeping zone in which the armed forces will guarantee peace? As you can see, there are still too many open questions to make statements on this issue," he said.
„But it is also clear, of course, that Germany, as the largest NATO country in Europe and the largest economy in Europe, cannot remain indifferent to this,“ Pistorius emphasized.