“Financial Times”: Olaf Scholz “snarled” at Andrzej Duda. “You don't even use euros”

As reported by “FT”, EU leaders met in Brussels this week before taking over the presidency USA By Donald Trump discuss ways to maintain support for Ukraine. One of the ideas, regarding the release of frozen Russian assets, was said to particularly irritate the Chancellor German.

As the Financial Times wrote, President Duda proposed confiscating and distributing Russian state assets worth approximately EUR 260 billion. It was this idea that met with a sharp reaction from the German leader. According to the daily, Scholz “snarled” at the Polish president, which surprised the meeting participants.

– You don't understand how this would affect the stability of our financial markets. You don't even use euros! – Scholz was quoted by “FT”, based on the accounts of three people.

The newspaper explained that the German leader could have been upset by another attempt to push through an idea that had been repeatedly discussed and rejected by Germany, France and Italy. The US expressed support for the takeover of Russian assets Great Britain.

“The first talks with Trump and his team after the elections have made Europeans hope that they can still influence his views. However, they are divided not only on the issue of increasing financial and military aid for Kiev, but, as the Scholz-Duda dispute showed, also on the issue of the greater challenge of securing any peace agreement,” the FT wrote.

According to the daily, “the stakes are huge” because “not only the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine is at stake, but also the long-term security of Europe.”

On Wednesday, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky took part in a meeting with the Secretary General of NATO Marek Rutte at his residence in Brussels. Poland was represented by the president Andrzej Duda. The meeting was also attended by, among others: Chancellor of Germany Olaf ScholzPrime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to end the war “within a day” of his inauguration. According to “FT”, this may mean that the president-elect may want to force Ukraine to accept the peace plan, even if it would be a solution beneficial to Moscow.

“In the past, the American leader often undermined Ukraine's position. He recently claimed that 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the conflict, which Kiev immediately denied,” wrote the Financial Times.

The daily emphasized that most EU countries, apart from Hungary and Slovakia, declared maintaining support for Ukraine. He added that during the summit in Brussels, the leaders omitted the issue of sending troops.