We will avoid recession this year, says Olaf Solz

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Chancellor Olaf Solz once again assured Berlin’s intention to continue supporting Ukraine

The chancellor Olaf Solz expressed his belief that the German economy will finally avoid recession this year and stressed the need to avoid a trade “war” between Europe and the US. He reaffirmed Berlin’s intention to continue supporting Ukraine and said that the thought of sending Leopard tanks is still being worked on.

The German economy “is able to survive the effects of the energy crisis caused by the Russian war in Ukraine without slipping into recession. I firmly believe that this is not going to happen – we are not going to go into recession,” the chancellor said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Referring to Washington’s anti-inflationary policy, Mr. Scholtz pointed out that “we are working very hard to avoid” a trade “war” with the US and appeared optimistic that talks with Washington would work so that US legislation would not hurt European businesses . He was clearly in favor of globalization. “We do not consider the policy of deglobalization to be correct. We have to work with many partners. The right thing now is for all of us – and the business sector – to be open to more than one supplier,” he stressed, while describing as a “wrong way of looking at the world” the fact that many consider Asia’s rise to be limited only to Asia. “We need a supply chain that will not be linked to one country or region, because that way, when there is a problem in one region, we will be able to turn to others, with which we will already be connected,” added the chancellor. Regarding Brexit, Olaf Solz made it clear that he is against any logic of “punishment” of Great Britain and said that he is still saddened by the decision of the British to leave the European Union. “It was their decision, they made it and now we will move forward as partners. Some agreements have already been concluded, there will be others and of course there is the issue of Northern Ireland. But I think if we all stick to the agreements, we will have a good partnership,” he pointed out.

Asked about the war in Ukraine and continued support for Kiev, Olaf Solz said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready for peace and “now it is up to Russia to take this step, because it cannot continue with attacks and he should withdraw troops.’ Russia “has to do something and that is to withdraw troops. That is what we expect, but from what we see so far, she is not willing to do that,” the chancellor added to Bloomberg. Answering questions about the possibility of sending Leopard tanks, as requested by many countries, Mr. Soltz explained that he is working on the issue and is always in consultation with partners. “We always act together with our allies and friends – we never go it alone,” he said.

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