BERLIN, July 15 (KUNA) -- The German Government on Tuesday acclaimed US President Donald Trump's plan to supply Ukraine with more weapons as Chancellor Fredriech Merz pledged 'to play a decisive" role to ensure that Kiev get the needed arms to pursue fighting the Russian forces.
A statement by the German Government quoted the Chancellor as lauding an agreement, declared by the US Administration, with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), on Monday, for supplying Ukraine with new shipments of weapons.
Merz vowed to play a "decisive role" in this respect, labeling the accord as a very crucial move and indicating that he had broached the matter several times with the American president.
Berlin's contributions to enable Kyiv defend itself serves European and German interests, the Chancellor added, expressing his opinion that strengthening Ukraine "is the sole avenue to increase pressure on Russia and nudge it to negotiate and reach a just solution" with Kiev.
According to the US-NATO accord, European states will buy US arms including the formidable anti-missile Patriots to hand them over to Ukraine.
Trump, since start of his second term in office, had sought to settle the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
However, he has recently grown weary with the non-cooperative Russian President Vladimir Putin and appeared tending to bolster Ukraine militarily and mount the pressure on Moscow to bring it to the negotiating table.
The conflict began in February 2014, when Moscow sent tank-led forces into the neighboring nation in what it had dubbed as a "special operation." Hostilities had escalated and the Russian forces seized some Ukrainian territories of mainly Russian-speaking populations. (end) anj.rk