The German justice minister says the delivery of tanks and other heavy weaponry to Ukraine would not -- by international law -- constitute his country’s entry into the war against Russia.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an interview published on April 16 that international law does not label the delivery of weapons as an entry into war.
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Therefore, if Ukraine “exercises its legitimate right of self-defense, supporting it by supplying weapons cannot lead to becoming a party to the war," said Buschmann.
The published comments come a day after the German government said it plans to release more than 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) in military aid to Ukraine following complaints by Kyiv that it is not receiving heavy weapons from Berlin.
A government spokeswoman told AFP that Berlin has decided to raise its international aid globally in the defense sector to 2 billion euros -- with “the largest part being planned in the form of military aid in favor of Ukraine.”
The funds for Ukraine are to be used for Kyiv to make military purchases, German officials said.
Political tensions between Germany and Ukraine have risen in recent days after Kyiv rejected a proposed visit by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who acknowledged "errors" in a too conciliatory policy toward Russia in the past when he served as foreign minister.
Many German politicians and citizens have debated how deeply the country should get involved in assisting Kyiv with military aid in its battle against the unprovoked attack by Russia.
Western nations, led by the United States, have been stepping up the delivery of weapons to Kyiv’s forces amid desperate pleas by Ukrainian leaders.
Germany has already provided hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Ukraine during the conflict.
Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not yet made a definitive public comment on the possibility of sending heavier weapons such as tanks, helicopters, and planes to Ukraine, even as cries calling for such aid have grown from within his center-left coalition.
Scholz has come under criticism in Germany for his hesitancy to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine, although Berlin has participated in Western sanctions against Russia and has stopped certification on the $12 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline built to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany.