© ReutersFILE PHOTO: Chancellor Olaf Scholz explained his Ukraine policy, views on Russia, and why he's rearming the Bundeswehr
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes in the transatlantic mission of universal democracy, rebuilding the German military to make the European Union stronger, and arming Ukraine while carefully skirting the line of open war with Russia, according to an interview published on Friday.
Germany is sending weapons, ammunition and other aid to Kiev to fuel Ukraine's war against Russia, but the situation requires "a cool head and well-considered decisions, because our country bears responsibility for peace and security throughout Europe," Scholz told the German weekly
Der Spiegel."I don't think it's justified for Germany and NATO to become warring parties in Ukraine," he added.
Ukraine has asked NATO countries for everything from artillery, tanks, and armored vehicles to ammunition. Earlier this week,
Scholz explained that Germany can't send any more weapons because the Bundeswehr's own stores were running low, but is willing to fund Kiev's arms purchases from the German military industry. He told Der Spiegel that Germany has an obligation to NATO to "withstand a conventional attack for twelve days with our ammunition and our equipment," so it can't send any more of it to Ukraine.On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said
Berlin had actually sent more weapons than publicly disclosed, while
rumors circulated that Germany could sell retired Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. A day later, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said that Berlin would send modern armored vehicles to Slovenia instead, while Ljubljana would ship its Cold War-era models to Kiev.
Scholz insisted to Der Spiegel that this tightrope act was about "political responsibility," not fear.
"Introducing a no-fly zone, as was demanded, would have turned NATO into a party to the war," he said. "I said very early on that we must do everything possible to avoid a direct military confrontation between NATO and a highly armed superpower like Russia, a nuclear power. I am doing everything to prevent an escalation leading to a third World War. There must be no nuclear war."
There is no clear standard under which Germany could be perceived as a party in the war, so it is important for Berlin to coordinate its actions with NATO allies, Scholz explained, as
"the consequences of a mistake would be dramatic."The chancellor also laid out his vision of how the conflict in Ukraine should end, while cautioning that Kiev should have the final word on that.
"There has to be a ceasefire, the Russian troops have to withdraw. There must be a peace agreement that will allow Ukraine to defend itself in the future.
We will equip them in such a way that their safety is guaranteed. And we are available as a guarantee power. There will be no dictated peace of the kind that Putin had long dreamed of," Scholz told Der Spiegel. Scholz described himself as a "trans-Atlanticist" who believes that "the desire to live as a democracy in a free society is universal." His belief that Russia has "long been on the road to autocracy" has been informed by the work of Masha Gessen, a Russian-born LGBTQ activist. Scholz blamed the current situation in Europe on "Putin's imperialism" and argued that the Russian president "is the aggressor, nobody else."
After declaring a "turning point" in German policy in a February speech,
Scholz said he was doing three things: investing 100 billion euros to better equip the Bundeswehr, accelerating Germany's transition to "green" energy, and building a "strong, sovereign European Union" which means bringing in the "Western Balkans" - referring to the the former Yugoslavia.Germans are ready for a more powerful army because "they know that a better equipped Bundeswehr does not mean a change to a more aggressive German policy," Scholz told
Der Spiegel, adding that his country has "repositioned itself as a democracy after all the catastrophes of the first half of the 20th century, in such a way that
nobody fears a militarily stronger Germany."
Comment: Germany is enforcing an apartheid state based on vaccine status and is arming neo-Nazi's; perhaps people should fear an increasingly militarised Germany?
RT also reports that a number of German public figures are
condemning their arming and weaponisation of Ukraine:
Germany should stop sending weapons to Ukraine - public figures
Further military aid to Ukraine would only lead to an uncontrollable escalation of hostilities and prolong the suffering of the people caught up in the fighting, a group of German politicians and public figures have warned Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an open letter. By providing arms to Kiev, Germany and other NATO nations "have de facto made themselves a war party," the letter published by the Berliner Zeitung on Friday, has said.
The co-authors of the letter, which include the ex-vice president of the Bundestag, Antje Vollmer, and a former UN assistant secretary general, Hans-Christof Graf von Sponeck, have said that Ukraine has "become the battlefield for the conflict between NATO and Russia over the security order in Europe," which is now waged "at the expense of the Ukrainian people."
If the conflict is not stopped quickly, it will end up in "another big war" similar to Word War I, the letter warns, adding that this time nuclear weapons might be used, bringing "widespread devastation and the end of human civilization." Avoiding further destruction and escalation should be an "absolute priority," it adds.
© AP / US Air Force / Mauricio CampinoFILE PHOTO: A batch of US military supplies bound for Ukraine.
The co-authors, who also include a former German MP, Norman Paech, as well as an ex-director of the Center for Conflict Research in Marburg, Johannes Becker, maintain that NATO's military support only delays a diplomatic solution, fueling the resistance of the Ukrainian army that "has little chance of winning." Instead, steps to end the bloodshed must be taken, they argue.
The first such step should a stop to all arms deliveries, the co-authors suggest, adding that Berlin should instead convince Kiev to "end its military resistance" and opt for a political solution instead. A neutral status for Ukraine, as well as recognition of Crimea as part of Russian territory and Kiev's consent to referendums in the Donbass republics, could be a "real chance" for reaching an agreement, they say.
Talks about the withdrawal of Russian troops and the "restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity" should be accompanied by NATO proposals on new security arrangements in the region that would take into account the "legitimate security interests of Russia and its neighboring countries," the letter says.
The co-authors, comprising 18 politicians and public figures in total, also suggest declaring several Ukrainian cities, including Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa, to be "open cities" - meaning locations that agree to abandon all defensive efforts in exchange for assurances that no fighting will take place in their premises. That would help them avoid destruction and civilian casualties, those behind the open letter argue.
The prevailing logic of war must be replaced by a courageous logic of peace and a new European and global peace architecture must be created that includes Russia and China. Our country must not stand on the sidelines here, but must play an active role.
Russia attacked its neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow's eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
The letter demonstrates that there are still a few reasonable minds in Germany's upper echelons, sadly they seem to be outnumbered by the incompetent, the compromised, and the pathological.
Also check out SOTT radio's:
NewsReal: Shanghai Lockdown - Moskva Hit - Escalation in Ukraine?
Comment: Germany is enforcing an apartheid state based on vaccine status and is arming neo-Nazi's; perhaps people should fear an increasingly militarised Germany?
RT also reports that a number of German public figures are condemning their arming and weaponisation of Ukraine: The letter demonstrates that there are still a few reasonable minds in Germany's upper echelons, sadly they seem to be outnumbered by the incompetent, the compromised, and the pathological.
Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Shanghai Lockdown - Moskva Hit - Escalation in Ukraine?