German Chancellor Says Ukraine's Accession to NATO Not on Agenda

KIEV (Sputnik) - Ukraine's accession to NATO is not on the agenda, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, adding that he does not understand why Moscow is now raising this issue.

"The issue of membership in the alliance is practically not on the agenda. Therefore, it is rather unusual to see the Russian government making something that is not actually on the agenda a part of a larger political issue. This is the challenge we face," Scholz said at a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev.

At the same time, Scholz said that Germany is regularly examining requests from Kiev for deliveries of weapons and providing a response after a full analysis of each request

In recent weeks, Ukraine has been asking Germany for arms supplies, with Berlin refusing to provide lethal weapons, maintaining that the government cannot legally approve these supplies to crisis regions. Kiev has criticized the approach.

"As for individual opportunities, we regularly study [relevant] requests. When we finish the analysis, we will be able to say something about it," Scholz said at a press conference in Kiev after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding that Germany is assisting Ukraine financially and will continue to do so.

Russia has repeatedly denied the West's allegations about preparations to invade Ukraine, saying it has no plans to attack any country but reserves the right to move troops on its sovereign territory as it sees fit. Russia has warned that NATO's plans to expand eastward represent a direct threat to its national security.