The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived at Downing Street for talks with Boris Johnson on Friday as the two leaders met to discuss reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas following Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine. Mr Johnson lauded Germany for stepping up in cutting off its dependence from Russian gas. He also warned Putin “has failed” in his attempts to divide Europe.
Mr Johnson told the news conference: “Olaf and I agree that our two countries and our allies must go further and provide more help to Ukraine.
“The Europe we knew just six weeks ago, no longer exists.
“Putin’s invasion strikes at the very foundations of the security of our continent, but his ambition to divide us has demonstrably failed, on the contrary, he has succeeded in uniting Europe and the whole transatlantic alliance, in support of Ukraine and in strong solidarity with each other.
“Putin has steeled our resolve, sharpened our focus, and he has forced Europe to begin to rearm together to guarantee our shared security.”
The Prime Minister pledged that Britain will send Ukraine a further £100 million of military support to Ukraine.
“The UK will send a further 100 million pounds’ worth of high-grade military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces, including more Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles … another 800 anti-tank missiles and precision munitions capable of lingering in the sky until directed to their target,” Mr Johnson said.
Britain will also provide more helmets, night-vision equipment and body armour, Johnson added at the news conference.
Mr Johnson told the joint No 10 press conference the two leaders have agreed on the importance of weaning off Russian oil and gas.
Earlier Mr Johnson offered assistance to Berlin, which is still heavily reliant on Russian gas, to reduce its dependence on Moscow’s energy exports in a bid to starve Vladimir Putin’s war machine of funds.
In a tweet, Mr Johnson said: “Looking forward to welcoming BundesKanzler Scholz to the UK today.
“I welcome his principled determination to end dependence on Russian energy.
“How we respond to Russia’s invasion will define the international order for years to come. We cannot let Putin’s crimes go unpunished.”