- The newspaper wrote that Schroeder categorically rejected criticism from Kiev regarding Berlin’s refusal to supply arms
- The former chancellor does not expect Russia to invade Ukraine
- Schroeder accused Germany’s chief diplomat, Anna Barbock, of a “small provocation” against Russia
- More such stories can be found on the homepage of Onet.pl
“I sincerely hope that the saber rattling in Ukraine will eventually stop,” Schroeder said.
“Because what I hear, as well as blaming Germany for its reasonable refusal to supply it with arms, is sometimes really intolerable,” he added.
Die Welt reports that Schroeder also interpreted the deployment of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine as a reaction to NATO maneuvers in the Baltic states and Poland. “Of course, this has an impact on thinking and analysis of threats in Russia itself,” he said.
The former chancellor does not expect Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. – I do not believe that. I also don’t think the Russian leadership has an interest in a military intervention in Ukraine, he said.
Schroeder accused Germany’s chief diplomat, Anna Barbock, of a “small provocation” against Russia. In early January, Barbuk traveled to Kiev, and from there to Moscow, where she met with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
– I was surprised that someone visited Russia and was in Kiev earlier. Well, I think the Russians accepted that, Schroeder said.
– I hope that this model will not be repeated during the visit to China, regardless of the place of the trip – he added.
The former chancellor praised Barbuk’s refusal to supply arms to Ukraine during her trip. He rated it “respectful”. The former said that in general, he saw “no major mistake” on the part of a Green Party politician during the trip, “except that perhaps a small provocation such as the trip to Russia via Kiev could have been avoided”. Leader of the Social Democratic Party. “But well, it’s just a matter of style,” he said.
Green Party political director Michael Kellner vehemently rejected the former chancellor’s criticism. “The statements I heard from Gerhard Schroeder are not befitting the former chancellor,” Kellner said in Berlin on Friday. He assessed that “these comments undermine the federal government’s efforts to find a peaceful solution and confuse cause and effect.”
As a consultant, Schroeder was a big supporter of the Nord Stream gas pipeline construction. He currently works for Russia’s Gazprom.
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