Scholz commemorates WWII as new war rages in Ukraine | DW News

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday warned that there can be "no peace under Russian dictatorship" in Ukraine during a speech to mark the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
"Ukraine wouldn't accept that and neither would we," Scholz said, according to the text released by his office of the speech that aired on German TV.
The chancellor said he is "deeply convinced" that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not win the conflict, which began on February 24.
"Ukraine will prevail. Freedom and security will win, just as freedom and security triumphed over servitude, violence and dictatorship 77 years ago," he added.
Scholz also recalled how Russians and Ukrainians once fought together and made great sacrifices to defeat Germany's "murderous National Socialism."
But now, "Putin wants to subdue Ukraine, destroying its culture and identity... [and] even equates his barbaric war of aggression with the fight against National Socialism. This is falsifying history and malicious. It is our duty to state this clearly," the chancellor said.
The chancellor also spoke of four clear principles at play in German foreign policy over the war:
"First, no German unilateral action! Whatever we do we coordinate in the closest possible way with our allies... Second, in everything we do, we must take care to maintain our own defense capability... Third, we will not do anything that harms us and our partners more than Russia. And fourth, we will not make any decision that would make NATO become a warring party."
But in reference to pressure on Germany to speed up the transition from Russian natural gas imports, Scholz said "we are not simply doing everything that is demanded of us," adding that "I swore in my oath of office, to prevent harm to the German people. That includes protecting our country and our allies from danger."


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