He made the remarks to journalists on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Bangkok, Ukrinform reports, citing Reuters.
“Our support for Ukraine is clear. There is no wavering on that. But there are also clear expectations of the Ukrainian government. I think there is room for improvement,” Klingbeil said.
According to the German official, these expectations are linked, among other things, to the need to explain to the German public the substantial amount of aid provided to Ukraine amid cuts in Germany’s budget spending.
Klingbeil said he was holding talks with international partners to secure continued funding for Ukraine. In particular, Australia and South Korea reaffirmed their commitments to continuing support during meetings in Bangkok on Thursday.
“One has to say that this is a different kind of commitment from that of us Europeans, who are geographically much closer," Klingbeil said. "But both made very clear that their support for Ukraine will continue,” the German minister said.
Read also: Germany joins Ukraine Transport Support Fund with EUR 1M contributionAs reported by Ukrinform, Prime Minister of Ukraine Sergii Koretskyi said Ukraine’s need for external budget financing next year exceeds $52 billion.
Photo: x.com / larsklingbeil