Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (77) leaves no doubt as to which side he is on in the Ukraine conflict.
While the Russian ruler Vladimir Putin (69) is deploying his troops (at least 130,000 soldiers) on the border with Ukraine and the fear of a war in Europe is growing, former chancellor and gas lobbyist Schröder accuses the threatened Ukraine of all people of being “saber-rattling”. before.
Schröder’s reinterpretation of the conflict: “I really hope that the saber-rattling in Ukraine will finally stop,” he said in the podcast “Die Agenda”. What Schröder means by “saber rattling”: the Ukrainian government’s request for arms deliveries from Germany and Western partners.
“Because what I have to hear there, including accusations against Germany for the reasonable cancellation of arms deliveries, sometimes knocks the bottom out of the barrel.”
Plain text: The ex-chancellor is pointing his finger at the possible Putin victim because he wants to protect himself and his citizens from an invasion.
But that’s not all: Schröder sees the Russian troop deployment (also) as a reaction to NATO maneuvers in the Baltic States and in Poland. “Of course, this has implications for thinking and threat analysis in Russia itself,” he said. You have to take that into account if you are looking for a settlement with Russia.
But he doesn’t expect an invasion. “I do not believe that. And I also don’t think that the Russian leadership can and does have an interest in intervening militarily in Ukraine.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (41, Greens) have repeatedly rejected the delivery of lethal weapons to Ukraine. Kiev sharply criticized this. Schröder: Baerbock’s no to arms deliveries was “respectable”.
Instead, the German announcement that it would supply Ukraine with 5,000 helmets caused ridicule worldwide: Ukraine idol Vitali Klitschko’s rant (“an absolute joke”) made it into the US news. His sarcastic statement in BILD that Germany would soon be delivering pillows was quoted in all the major newspapers.
Schröder spoke out in favor of building on the idea of a European security structure WITH Russia in diplomatic efforts to find a solution. NATO should exclude Ukraine’s membership for the foreseeable future in order to find long-term ways “that take everyone’s security interests into account”.
Schröder has been friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he was Chancellor. He also holds management positions in the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipeline projects. He is Chairman of the Shareholders’ Committee of Nord Stream AG and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nord Stream 2 AG. Both gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea connect Russia and Germany.
In view of the real danger of war in Europe, the former chief foreign policy officer in the EU Parliament, Elmar Brok (75), raised serious allegations against former Chancellor Schröder last week and called for consequences from Chancellor Olaf Scholz (63, SPD).
Brok, a member of the EU Parliament for almost 40 years and its chief foreign policy officer for almost 20 years, told BILD: “I am shocked that, given the real danger of war, former Chancellor Schröder is not calling on the Russian President to exercise moderation.”