BERLIN, August 3. /TASS/. Germany is interested in avoiding any further escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and believes support to Kiev should not be focused exclusively on the military aspects of aid, Ralf Stegner, a Bundestag (German parliament) member from the ruling Social Democratic Party, told the Deutschlandfunk radio station.
He reiterated that Germany holds second place, after the United States, as an arms supplier to Ukraine and, thus, "should not tolerate any rebukes thrown in its direction." In his opinion, Berlin is interested in "helping Ukraine." "However, we are also interested in avoiding any escalation," the lawmaker added. According to him, Germany’s "population expects this from the government."
"We should view things not only from the military point of view," Stegner noted. "Diplomatic efforts, along with political, economic and humanitarian ones, should also play their part," he added.
The total volume of Germany’s military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine has reached almost 17 bln euros since February 2022.