Germany won't be a 'party to the war' amid tanks exports to Ukraine: Ambassador
Germany won't be a 'party to the war' amid tanks exports to Ukraine: Ambassador
The German ambassador to Canada says Germany will not become “a party to the conflict” in Ukraine, despite it and several other countries announcing they’ll answer President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pleas for tanks, possibly increasing the risk of Russian escalation.
Sabine Sparwasser said it’s a “real priority” for Germany to support Ukraine, but that it’s important to be in “lockstep” coordination with other allied countries.
“There is a clear line for Germany,” she told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday. “We do want not want to be a party to the conflict.”
“We want to support, we want to do everything we can, but we, and NATO, do not want to be a party to the war,” she also said. “That's I think, the line we're trying to follow.”
Defence Minister Anita Anand announced this week Canada will send four Leopard 2 battle tanks — with the possibility of more in the future — to Ukraine, along with Canadian Armed Forces members to train Ukrainian soldiers on how to use them.
Canada first needed permission from Berlin to re-export any of its 82 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. After a meeting of 50 defence leaders in Germany earlier this month, it was unclear whether Germany would give the green light.
But following what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called “intensive consultations,” Germany announced on Jan. 25 it would send tanks to Ukraine, and the following day, Canada followed suit. It is now joining several other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Poland, which are sending several dozen tanks to Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week the tanks would allow Ukraine to “significantly strengthen their combat capabilities.”
“It demonstrates also the unit and the resolve of NATO allies in partners in providing support to Ukraine,” he said.
Meanwhile Sparwasser said Germany is “walking that fine line” of avoiding steps that could prompt escalation from Russia, while supporting Ukraine, and staying out of the war themselves.
“I think it's very important to see that Germany is very determined and has a real priority in supporting Ukraine in its struggle for freedom and sovereignty,” Sparwasser said. “But we also put a high priority on going it together with our friends and allies.”
Sparwasser said despite warnings from Russia that sending tanks to Ukraine will cause an escalation, Germany is within international law — specifically Article 51 of the United Nations Charter — to provide support to Ukraine.
“Ukraine is under attack has the right to self defence, and other nations can come in and provide Ukraine with the means to defend itself,” Sparwasser said. “So in international law terms, this is a very clear cut case.”
She added that considering “Russia doesn’t respect international law,” it’s a more impactful deterrent to Russia, ahead of an expected spring offensive, to see several countries come together in support of Ukraine.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
One person has been confirmed dead and six people remain missing as police continue to search for victims after a fire swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a national standardized testing process to be created in order to speed up the licensing process for doctors and nurses who are either immigrants or were trained abroad.
Even at one of the tallest natural peaks on Earth, humans have left their mark in a trail of bacteria as researchers have found germs from coughing and sneezing that have been potentially preserved for centuries on Mount Everest.
President Vladimir Putin always relished his global outings, burnishing his image as one of the big guns running the world but with the International Criminal Court's war crimes charges against him, Putin's world just got smaller.
The possibility that Donald Trump may be charged for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign is garnering sympathy for the Republican former president, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said on Sunday.
A Ukrainian charity tells CTVNews.ca how women on the front lines of the war in Ukraine do not have proper equipment and are struggling with the realities of being in a conflict zone. Here are their stories.
North Korea said Monday it simulated a nuclear attack on South Korea with a ballistic missile launch over the weekend that was its fifth missile demonstration this month to protest the largest joint military exercises in years between the U.S. and South Korea.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
One person has been confirmed dead and six people remain missing as police continue to search for victims after a fire swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday.
Canada will make it easier for temporary residents from Turkiye and Syria to extend their stay in the country and will prioritize the visa applications of people from these two countries, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Saturday.
The families of two Edmonton Police Service officers killed in the line of duty this week will receive $100,000 from Alberta's provincial fund for first responders, the premier says.
Ontario is set to double the number of economic immigrants it welcomes to the province under an agreement with the federal government to boost the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.
North Korea said Monday it simulated a nuclear attack on South Korea with a ballistic missile launch over the weekend that was its fifth missile demonstration this month to protest the largest joint military exercises in years between the U.S. and South Korea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the occupied port city of Mariupol, his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September and a show of defiance after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges.
The possibility that Donald Trump may be charged for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign is garnering sympathy for the Republican former president, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said on Sunday.
Israel and the Palestinians pledged Sunday at a meeting in Egypt to take steps to lower tensions ahead of a sensitive holiday season — including a partial freeze on Israeli settlement activity and an agreement to work together to “curb and counter violence.”
A Ukrainian charity tells CTVNews.ca how women on the front lines of the war in Ukraine do not have proper equipment and are struggling with the realities of being in a conflict zone. Here are their stories.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a national standardized testing process to be created in order to speed up the licensing process for doctors and nurses who are either immigrants or were trained abroad.
Canadians' satisfaction with our country continues to decline, especially when it comes to perceptions of our political institutions, according to a new national survey by Nanos Research. And younger Canadians have the bleakest view of the nation out of all age groups.
Joe Biden's last official visit to Canada came with a palpable sense of foreboding. Six years later, Biden is coming back -- this time as U.S. president -- and the world is very different. His message likely won't be.
A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among U.S. military pilots and for the first time has shown that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a national standardized testing process to be created in order to speed up the licensing process for doctors and nurses who are either immigrants or were trained abroad.
A new study shows young Canadians are using performance-enhancing drugs and substances to increase muscle mass and athleticism, which can cause adverse mental and physical health effects.
A slight increase in UFO sightings in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic years may not be because of the pandemic itself, but because of Elon Musk’s new internet satellites, researchers found.
Engineers at the University of Arizona have developed a system they say could allow autonomous vehicles to scout out habitats for astronauts in caves and other underground features by leaving a trail of 'breadcrumbs.'
A host of comedic and entertainment royalty gathered at Washington's Kennedy Center to present comedy icon Adam Sandler with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Actor Lance Reddick is being remembered by family and friends following his sudden death Friday at age 60. 'Lance was taken from us far too soon,' Stephanie Reddick, the late actor's widow, wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday.
New York Community Bank has agreed to buy a significant chunk of the failed Signature Bank in a US$2.7 billion deal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said late Sunday.
Banking giant UBS is buying troubled rival Credit Suisse for almost US$3.25 billion, in a deal orchestrated by regulators in an effort to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in the global banking system.
Many companies that emerged to manufacture and procure PPE in the early days of the pandemic have gone bust. But others with pre-existing product lines before pivoting to pandemic-related products have since managed to switch back, as supply lines and demand factors recovered and stabilized.
Bear lovers rejoice: The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is hiring for 'professional bear huggers' with an adorable job listing posted on Facebook.
The Rideau McDonald's Farewell March brought people from across the city, some dressed in costumes, who wanted to say goodbye to a part of what they say makes Ottawa Ottawa.
A week after breaking the record of Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark, American skier Mikaela Shiffrin extended the all-time best mark for most career wins to 88 by winning the last race of the season, a giant slalom at the World Cup Finals on Sunday.
San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer won't take part in pregame warmups Saturday night, saying the team's decision to wear Pride-themed jerseys in support of the LGBTQ community runs counter to his religious beliefs.
Zlatan Ibrahimović's Instagram profile says he's a writer and on Saturday the Swede penned a new page in his remarkable career when he became the oldest ever goalscorer in Italy's Serie A.
Volkswagen plans to invest in mines to bring down the cost of battery cells, meet half of its own demand and sell to third-party customers, the carmaker's board member in charge of technology said.
