German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday said a "lesson" of the "turning point" of the ongoing war in Ukraine was to support accession of Ukraine, Western Balkan states, Moldova and, "in the future", Georgia to the European Union.
In his speech at the Summits of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavík, Scholz noted the Council of Europe had an “important” role to play in ensuring democracy.
The Council of Europe @coe is more important today than ever before.
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) May 16, 2023
There’s an inseparable link between the rule of law, democracy and the protection of human rights at national level and peaceful coexistence at international level. #CouncilOfEuropeSummit pic.twitter.com/bHFzP3C6U1
“The Council of Europe must do everything in its power to ensure that democracy, human rights and the rule of law actually gain a foothold everywhere in Europe”, Scholz said.
“Eventually Russia's war against Ukraine will end and one thing is for sure. It will not end in a victory for Putin's imperialism, because we will support Ukraine until a just peace is achieved”, he noted.