The world reacted quite sharply to the act of Russian aggression towards Ukraine. It has become known that the leading countries are not coming to the G8 summit in Sochi this June. Many countries withdrew ambassadors from Moscow, and foreign ministries in many Western countries summoned Russian ambassadors for an explanation. The Day asked the Warsaw correspondent of Die Welt newspaper Gerhard GNAUCK to comment how the German government and German public react to the fact that Russia has occupied part of Ukrainian territory?
“There was quite a large rally protesting the actions of Russia on March 3 in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, counting Nobel Laureate Herta Mueller among its speakers. I think, though, that most of the German public is surprised or, in other words, too shocked to react. As for politicians, on the one hand, Chancellor Angela Merkel uses harsher tone and warnings toward Putin. On the other hand, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier tries to find some new way to maintain dialog with Russia, and in particular in the framework of the OSCE.”
We see media reports that after her call with Putin, Merkel called Barack Obama and said the Russian president “was not in touch with reality” in his assessment of the situation in Ukraine. What do they say in Germany?
“Yes, the International New York Times wrote that Merkel called someone and said that Putin was living in another world and not in touch with reality. I would like to say in this case something else: which world the German political class was living in over recent years? It seems to me that the German political class and much of the public were out of touch with changing Russia. Now, of course, all those who lived in another world are shocked, and that is understandable.”
All expect Merkel, as the leader of the leading European country, to react to the actions of Russia in Ukraine as hard as the US did, threatening economic and political sanctions. Why has she not made such harsh statements, as head of the White House or secretary of state John Kerry, who will visit Kyiv on March 4, did?
“I think that, on the one hand, there is the legacy of Germany’s restraint in foreign policy. By Merkel’s own standards, she has already used quite harsh words. In addition, she is a politician who works mainly behind closed doors. She does not always go to the media, she has other means to use.”
But is not the mission of the OSCE, which she agreed with Putin, only delaying tactic for Russia to complete occupation of Crimea? What else can this mission figure out?
“I also ask myself this question. Sending a mission is a first step. I think you can increase it if Putin continues his offensive and intensifies the crisis in Ukraine. The OSCE mission can become a peacekeeping mission under the auspices of either the EU or a coalition of the willing. It is great to have a conversation start of at least some kind of mission.”
How do Germans perceive now comparisons of Putin with Adolf Hitler, the Berlin Olympics of 1936 and recent games in Sochi, the Anschluss of Austria and Germany with the union that Russia wants Ukraine to join?
“The first to make this comparison was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Karel Schwarzenberg who noted that Hitler partitioned Czechoslovakia under the pretext of protecting minorities. Germans are very wary to compare others to Hitler. But I am afraid that the Czech politician is to some extent right.”
We know cases of false Western media coverage of the events in Ukraine, which essentially refers to what is happening in our country from the Russian point of view. What is the situation in the German media?
“I would say that the German media more or less normally cover events in Ukraine. First, we now have 5-6 German journalists working in Crimea alone, not to mention Kyiv. As for coverage in the German media, German channels well understand that a threat to Ukraine exists, and the propaganda trick picturing Ukrainians as fascists and Banderites almost never found resonance. So, we are dealing here with a great failure of Kremlin propaganda. Apart from that, it looks like the tactics of the Ukrainian leadership is very smart as it declares that we will not fire the first shot.”
I would like to hear from you a forecast on how the situation will play out? Will Putin retreat after such a powerful barrage of criticism of the international community?
“I am not going to make predictions, but I hope that both Putin and Russian society realize that this is, how the British foreign minister said, the most serious crisis of the 21st century. This crisis and, perhaps, this blood will be on the hands of Putin, it will be his legacy, and he will go down in history as the man who made the peoples of Ukraine and Russia to go against each other. I think this is a bad mark in history.”
COMMENTARY
“I DO NOT KNOW IF GERMAN LEADERS REALIZE THAT PUTIN DOES NOT SHARE THEIR VIEWS”
Ulrich SPECK, expert on foreign policy, a senior fellow of the European Carnegie Center, Brussels:
“Berlin believes that Putin can be stopped from going too far only if the West gives him a chance to step back from the brink. They are afraid if they now threaten him with sanctions, they will lose contact with him and Putin will become a pariah. So they try to keep him among civilized world’s leaders. This can work, but there are no sticks or threats involved. Putin is a strong and dispassionate player who will yield to another force. Moderation and negotiations are seen as positive values in Western democracies, but I do not know if German leaders realize that Putin does not share their views. The most important thing is that the West uses both diplomatic instruments: the stick and the carrot.”
