German calculations about Ukraine worry NATO allies

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Germany's allies have begun to question the price Berlin is willing to pay to deter Russia, and even its reliability as an ally, as it hesitates to introduce tough measures, writes the New York Times.

The United States and its NATO allies are increasing their military commitments in the Baltics and Eastern Europe as the conflict with Russia over Ukraine deepens. Denmark is sending fighter jets to Lithuania and a frigate to the Baltic Sea. France has offered to send troops to Romania. Spain is sending a frigate to the Black Sea. President Biden has put thousands of American soldiers on "high alert.".

And then there is Germany. In recent days, Germany – Europe's largest and wealthiest democracy, strategically located at the crossroads between East and West – has stood out more for what it will not do than for what it is doing.

No European country is more important for European unity and the Western alliance. However, as Germany struggles to overcome its post-World War II reluctance to lead in European security matters and set aside its instinct to accommodate rather than confront Russia, Europe's most important country has failed its first crucial test for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's new government.

Germany's apparent hesitation to take strong action has fueled doubts about its reliability as an ally — reversing the dynamic with the United States in recent years — and added to concerns that Moscow could exploit German hesitation as a wedge to divide a united European response to any Russian aggression.

President Biden held a video call with European leaders on Monday evening, saying it went "very, very, very" well, and earlier Chancellor Scholz reiterated that Russia would bear "high costs" in the event of military intervention. But Germany's allies are still wondering how much price it is willing to pay to confront possible Russian aggression.

As Russia held military exercises near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday, Mr. Scholz met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin, warning Moscow that "military aggression that calls into question the territorial integrity of Ukraine would have severe consequences.".

However, the German government has not only ruled out any arms exports to Ukraine but is also withholding a shipment of nine Soviet-era howitzers from Estonia to Ukraine.

Mr. Scholz and other high-ranking Social Democrats in his government have been vague about whether shutting down the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany would be part of the arsenal of possible sanctions against Russia, insisting it is a "private... sectoral project" and a matter "separate" from Ukraine.

Friedrich Merz, the designated new leader of Angela Merkel's opposition conservative party, has meanwhile warned against excluding Russian banks from the Swift payment transaction network, which handles global financial transfers, as it would "harm" German economic interests.