Germany's Scholz demands urgent 'signs of de-escalation' from Moscow

euronews.com:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz demanded Moscow urgently show "signs of de-escalation" over the crisis at the Ukrainian border as he embarked on a two-day trip to Kyiv and Moscow.

Scholz wrote on Twitter on Monday morning that during his visit to Ukraine he will "express our continued solidarity and support".

"We urgently expect signs of de-escalation from Moscow," he added. "Another military aggression would have very serious consequences for Russia. I am in absolute agreement with our allies on this. We are experiencing a very, very serious threat to peace in Europe."

Scholz's two-day trip comes after his government was criticised for refusing to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine or spell out which sanctions it would support against Russia, raising questions about Berlin’s resolve to stand up to Russia.

Ahead of the trip, the Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin decried what he called "German hypocrisy".

Andrij Melnyk wrote on Twitter on Sunday that while Berlin is not sending weapons "for Ukraine's self-defence against Russia military invasion", it has exported 366 million worth of dual-use goods in Russia in 2020 "which can be destined to boost weapons production".

The German chancellor's visit to Ukraine and Moscow is the latest in a series of meetings between Western allies and Russian authorities over fears Russia is gearing up to invade its neighbour. Moscow has repeatedly denied it wants to attack Ukraine.

More than 100,000 Russian troops and military equipment are deployed near the border with Ukraine. Russian forces are in Belarus, which borders Ukraine too, while six Russian amphibious assault ships have been moved to the Black Sea.

Washington warned on Friday that its latest intelligence suggests Moscow could invade before