Scholz speaks after the criticism why he didn't send weapons to Ukraine: Priority is averting NATO-Russia conflict

NATO must avoid a direct military confrontation that could lead to a third world war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said in an interview for the David Spiegel asked about Germany's refusal to send heavy weapons towards Ukraine, Periscope follows.

In the long interview published Friday, asked why he thinks sending tanks to Ukraine would lead to the nuclear war, he said there is no book with rules defining when Germany can be considered part of the war in Ukraine.

This is why it's important that we take every step very carefully and coordinate closely with each other. Avoiding a transition to NATO is a priority for me”, he said as well.

This is why I don't do polls or why I don't let myself worry about these calls. The consequences of a mistake would be dramatic”, the German Chancellor added.

On the other hand, Scholz backed his decision not to ban Germany's import of Russian gas in response to what Russia calls the special military operation “” in Ukraine.

I don't even understand how a gas blockade would stop the war. If Putin were open to economic arguments, he would never start this crazy war. Second, you act as when it was a matter of money. But this is how we avoid a deep economic crisis and the loss of millions of jobs and the closure of factories that would no longer open doors.

He also said such a decision would have consequences not only for Germany, but also for Europe in future financing in the reconstruction of Ukraine.