German Foreign Minister Annalena Bierbock has dismissed the fuss over a photo circulating on social media in which she stands with her back to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and he reaches out to her, calling it a “snapshot“ from which it is impossible to judge what is actually happening.
“This illustrates the times we live in, that with the help of individual photos something is assumed that never actually happens“, Bierbock said in an interview with the television channel ZDF.
Some journalists, as the minister noted, thought that this was her first meeting with Scholz that day, although this was absolutely not the case. “At that moment, as you can see in the photo, I didn't notice what was happening behind me at all, because like everyone else, I don't have eyes in the back of my head. This is a typical snapshot and no one knows how the situation developed later“, said the head of the German Foreign Ministry.
Earlier, the Bild newspaper published a photo in which Berbock stands with his back to Scholz, and he extends his hand to her. The publication interpreted the photo as the refusal of the head of the German Foreign Ministry to talk to the Chancellor, after Scholz allegedly decided to block the allocation of an additional package of military aid to Kiev in the amount of 3 billion EUR before the early parliamentary elections in Germany, scheduled for February 23.
Earlier, the magazine Der Spiegel, citing its sources, reported that Scholz blocked the allocation of an additional package of military aid to Kiev in the amount of 3 billion EUR, which is being promoted by the heads of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense, Annalena Berbock and Boris Pistorius. According to the publication, the ministers would like to provide new assistance before the Bundestag elections, scheduled for February 23. The list of weapons, prepared by experts from the Ministry of Defense, includes three more IRIS-T air defense systems, including shells, Patriot missiles, 10 howitzers and ammunition. It was planned to pass through the Bundestag's budget committee 3 billion euros as additional expenses. Previously, the German government had already used such a loophole to provide assistance to Kiev.
However, the Federal Chancellor's Office claims that it unofficially made it clear that it would not approve an additional package of military aid. There, according to the publication, they justified their position by not wanting to put the new German government in front of a fait accompli, and also indicated that Germany still has enough funds to finance the supply of weapons to Kiev. The budget for 2025 provides for about 4 billion euros for these purposes. Scholz's department also recalled the G7's decision to provide a loan to Ukraine using proceeds from frozen Russian assets.