Germany, as the most powerful country on the continent, has been determining political orientation in Europe during the past few years. So, it is clear why Ukraine watches the reaction of Berlin with so much attention.
How did Germany react to the missile attack on Mariupol, and should reinforcement of sanctions against Russia, which ignores the Minsk accords, be expected from the German government? Read about this in an exclusive interview with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andrii MELNYK, newly appointed at the end of the past year.
REACTION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT
“Despite the weekend, the reaction from German government to missile attack in Mariupol was very quick and unambiguous.
“In particular, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel personally expressed condolences in a telephone conversation with Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko in relation to numerous victims in Mariupol. According to Merkel, this attack was a clear violation of the negotiated truce, which cannot be justified by anything. Besides, on Sunday Merkel had a phone conversation with Russia’s President Putin, in which she urged him to avoid further steps that would lead to escalation. She also called on him to influence the separatists. According to Merkel, urgent steps must be taken to achieve a peaceful settling of the conflict and implement the Minsk accords, and in this respect, adherence to the ceasefire regime and withdrawal of heavy artillery along the contact line, which was determined in Minsk are meant in the first place.
“We received information from Germany’s MFA, according to which foreign minister Steinmeier threatens Russia with harsher sanctions in his commentary to Reuters and dpa.
“The events in Mariupol draw a very wide response among the Bundestag members as well. In particular, one of the leading foreign political spokespeople of the CDU Karl-Georg Wellmann, head of the German-Ukrainian Parliamentary Friendship Group, stressed that if the Russian government does not take measures to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine, further intensification and reinforcement of sanctions against Russia must be discussed. Another CDU politician Elizabeth Motschmann has the same point of view; she said that in case such incidents continue, the EU will be forced to resort to sanctions.
“As for other faction, we have similar signals from the Green Party. In particular, its foreign political spokesperson Omid Nouripur stressed that such Moscow’s position in relation to conflict escalation cannot be ignored by Germany and the EU. Reaction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was more reserved. In particular, deputy chairman of the Bundestag faction Rolf Muetzenich said on Sunday that it will be possible to talk about further steps in relation to Russia after the OSCE mission provides assessment on the attack on Mariupol.
“So, in general it can be said that in the first days after this horrible attack on Mariupol, political establishment of Germany openly and unambiguously said that such steps cannot remain unanswered.”
President of the European Council Donald Tusk said the following about the missile attack mentioned above: “Pacification policy only urges the aggressor to greater acts of violence. It is time to toughen our policy based on cold facts, but not on illusions.” Does German elite share this position?
“I think that the personal reaction of the German Chancellor, who takes care of the Ukrainian question, was very unambiguous. The EU Council meeting on the level of foreign ministers is scheduled on Thursday and will be supported by the German side. And an informal EU summit on the level of the EU heads of states is expected on February 12. Obviously, if no de-escalation steps are taken, Germany’s political establishment cannot stay aside from the general European discussion of the further actions taken in relation to Russia.”
Is it possible that the ministers adopt another round of sanctions against Russia on Thursday?
“It is hard to foresee the process and the result of the Thursday encounter, but the very fact that literally several days after the attack on Mariupol the European Union is assembling for a special meeting that will be dedicated to the Ukrainian question exclusively is very telling.”
SANCTIONS
The German government stresses the peaceful or, in other words, diplomatic option of settling the conflict in Ukraine. But it is known that diplomacy without muscle strength can be unsuccessful.
“Indeed, Germany’s leadership, and the chancellor personally, has several times stressed that there is no military solution to the conflict in the east of Ukraine. And it can only be resolved by peaceful means, possibly including the toughening of sanctions, which is likewise one of efficient measures for altering the Kremlin’s policy.
“Obviously, the current sanctions against Russia are perceived as efficient, thus the question of sanctions will clearly remain part of the agenda. Toughening is not excluded.”
What other sanctions do you think should be employed to make Putin back down?
“At present it is too early to talk about concrete measures that can be taken. The range of issues could be rather wide.”
During her visit to Kyiv Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany would provide the Ukrainian government with 500-million-euro loan guarantees for the reconstruction of Donbas. Could you tell how this agreement is being implemented?
“This concerns the reconstruction of the areas in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts which are controlled by Ukraine’s government. Although the financing allocated under these guarantees could also be used for other projects, which do not necessarily have to do with eastern Ukraine. At present, a relevant government to government deal is being finished. We expect that this will be completed in February, and after the ratification at the Ukrainian parliament the document will take effect. This will allow the German Reconstruction Bank to start issuing loans in the framework of these guarantees of 500 million euro, provided by Germany’s federal government.”
It is common knowledge that Ukraine’s army lacks weapons to counter the Russian aggression. Have our officials requested Germany’s government to provide defensive weapons, and how did Berlin respond?
“Certainly, negotiations on this topic are being held with all governments, including that of Germany, which has already provided considerable aid. In particular, to reinforce our border guards. There is a very wide range of talks about the possible ways for Germany to render aid to Ukraine, including military and technical cooperation. Recently certain decisions were adopted, in particular, on issuing certain licenses and import of certain equipment (including motors) to Ukraine. So, on this issue we have a very clear and practical dialog with our German counterparts.”
“THE STANDPOINT OF GERMAN MEDIA ON COVERING THE DEVELOPMENTS IN UKRAINE IS CLEAR AND OBJECTIVE”
How do German media cover the developments in Ukraine? Do they understand the core of the conflict, that this is Russia’s aggression against our state, and do they try to influence the government so that it takes a harder stand towards Russia?
“The leading media, such as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Welt, Sueddeutsche Zeitung and so on, provide a very clear analysis of events, and their position, in my opinion, is very outspoken. This is also true of the reports published on Saturday, when Mariupol was attacked. German media’s standpoint concerning the coverage of the developments in Ukraine is very clear and objective. Of course, Germany’s political leadership cannot but take this into consideration.”
By the way, what would you say about the role of the Ukrainian community in Germany, how active is it in promoting Ukraine’s position?
“We intend to expand our contacts with the considerable Ukrainian community living in Germany. In principle, in my opinion, this community has been very active in that short time I have stayed in Berlin. They have held a number of events, in particular, a Peace March after the bombing of the bus near Volnovakha. We are planning to fully involve the capabilities of our community in the struggle against Russia’s propaganda in Germany. I mean the involvement of all possible means including Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. We have plans concerning opening a Ukrainian school. And I think the school will be on the Embassy’s premises.”
When will the dream of building a Ukrainian Home in Berlin be realized?
“This is no dream, this is our goal, and not a short-term one. Given the financial situation in Ukraine, it is hardly realistic to talk about it today, but we are working on it.”
