Germany: Not Such a Reluctant Ally After All?

This past weekend marked a major step in Germany’s commitment to supporting Kyiv in its battle against the Russian invasion. On Saturday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced an arms package to provide more tanks, armored vehicles, and air defense systems to Ukraine, totaling 2.7 billion euros – or nearly $3 billion. The announcement came just before talks between Chancellor Scholz and President Volodymir Zelinsky – and is seen as an attempt to “reset” the relationship between the two countries after Germany’s hesitancy to provide weapons. On Sunday, President Zelinsky was presented the prestigious Charlemagne Prize in the City of Aachen. The award is bestowed on someone who has promoted German unity, and past honorees have included Winston Churchill, Angela Merkel, and Bill Clinton.

Join us on Wednesday, May 17, at 10 am ET for a virtual discussion about Germany’s support of Ukraine with Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, former Foreign Editor at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger (1985 ACG Legislative Aide Fellow) is a German journalist and political scientist. He is the former Foreign Editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, where he wrote about international politics. Before joining the newspaper’s editorial staff in 1986, Mr. Frankenberger gained deep insight into the U.S. political decision-making process when he worked as an assistant to a U.S. member of Congress. He was a Bosch Fellow at the Transatlantic Academy in Washington, DC, in 2011 and a Marshall Fellow at Harvard University in 1990. He serves on the Board of various institutions dealing with foreign and defense policy issues. Mr. Frankenberger earned a Master’s Degree in Political Science, Economics, and American Studies from Frankfurt University.