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Germany's Scholz: No apology for reporter snubbed at G7

A spokeswoman for Olaf Scholz says the German Chancellor doesn’t feel the need to apologize to a reporter for curtly dismissing her question at the end of the Group of Seven summit he hosted this week, prompting widespread criticism

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 29 June 2022 07:22 EDT

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A spokeswoman for Olaf Scholz says the German Chancellor doesn't feel the need to apologize to a reporter for curtly dismissing her question at the end of the Group of Seven summit he hosted this week, prompting widespread criticism.

Rosalia Romaniec, a Polish-born journalist for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, had asked Scholz on Tuesday whether he “could elaborate” on the security guarantees for Ukraine discussed by G-7 leaders during their summit.

“Yes, I could,” Scholz replied. After a moment's pause, he added: “That's it.”

The reply was widely seen as an unnecessary snub to a veteran reporter seeking details about one of the most important issues discussed at the three-day meeting in the Bavarian resort of Elmau.

Opposition lawmaker Hermann Groehe of the Christian Democrat accused Scholz of being disrespectful with his reply. “Completely inappropriate way of handling a journalist's question," he wrote on Twitter.

Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said Wednesday that Scholz had responded at greater length to a similar question about security guarantees for Ukraine.

Asked whether he planned to apologize for his handling of the situation, she said: “The chancellor is not of the opinion that an apology would be necessary there.”

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