German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected Pope Francis' statement on the raising of the "white flag" in the Ukraine war.
"As you can imagine, the federal chancellor does not agree with the pope on this issue," government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin on Monday. "It is true that Ukraine is defending itself against an aggressor."
Kiev is also receiving a great deal of international support in order to be able to defend itself against the war of aggression, which violates international law, Hebestreit added.
However, Hebestreit also pointed out that the clarification by a Vatican spokesman regarding the pope's statements had been noted: Spokesman Matteo Bruni contradicted reports that the pope had called on Ukraine to surrender in an interview on Swiss television.
