The Bundestag said that the old mistake of the ex-Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel made possible the war of Russia against Ukraine. Such theses are part of an old discussion in German society.
Political scientist Taras Semenyuk told Channel 24 about this. In particular, the head of the Bundestag Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, said that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was partially responsible for starting the war in Ukraine.
According to Shtrak-Zimmermann, in 2008 Ukraine was promised an early entry into the North Atlantic Alliance. However, Merkel and the then head of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, opposed Ukraine's entry into NATO out of “respect for Russia.”
Merkel's old mistakes
The representative of the Bundestag stressed that the fact that Ukraine did not become a member of NATO “was a big mistake that the French and Angela Merkel made then.”
Semenyuk noted that we are talking about the events of the time when Viktor Yushchenko was the President of Ukraine. In April 2008, a NATO summit was held in Bucharest, at which Ukraine expected to receive an Action Plan for Membership in the Alliance (MAP). However, due to the position of Germany and France, Kyiv was refused.
Will the new discussion have implications for Merkel?
According to the political scientist, the actions of ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel began to be mentioned at the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
Merkel has been repeatedly invited to “duel” on this issue. They wanted to hear her position from her, but Mrs. Merkel's position was incomprehensible. She avoided a direct answer,” said Semenyuk.
And sometimes the ex-Chancellor of Germany even declared that she did not regret the policy she had pursued towards Russia.
“Now there is a continuation of the discussion. But it will not bear any fruit, except for certain political bonuses for Angela Merkel's opponents . I do not see global movements that could influence Merkel's point of view,” the political scientist said.
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Is Merkel's “repentance” possible?
The political scientist suggested that the former German chancellor would not change his position further.
Today, Angela Merkel is remembered for her ancient sins. But does Merkel have real repentance? Hard to tell. Perhaps somewhere deep down she is reflecting on the fact that her pro-Russian policy was wrong,” Semenyuk said.
The political scientist added that due to pro-Russian views, the ex-chancellor of the West did not calculate that Russia could plan a large-scale offensive against a neighboring country.
“Moreover, Germany did not feel that Russia was going to violate all permissible rules and norms of international law. And most importantly, it could violate the consensus that was reached after the Second World War – the inviolability of borders,” Semenyuk stressed.
Germany demilitarized for Merkel
The political scientist noted that due to the policy of Angela Merkel, the defense capability of her country also suffered.
Germany itself under Merkel demilitarized in terms of the Bundeswehr. Before Merkel, there were 45 large brigades in the German Armed Forces, and now there are 6-7 left. The army has decreased a lot,” Semenyuk said.
However, Germany did not stop the production of weapons. However, the country produced most of the weapons for export.
“That is why we have high hopes for the German Leopards , which were created as opposed to Russian tanks, but in terms of quality they are much more efficient than Russian ones,” the political scientist emphasized.
Scandalous statements of Angela Merkel: briefly
- German ex-chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the possibility of participating in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. At the same time, she believes that the war will still end “at the negotiating table.”
- Politics also noted that, as German chancellor, she made decisions about Russia and Ukraine, guided by a logic that she still considers reasonable.
- Earlier, the German ex-chancellor said that she did not consider her decision to increase the purchase of natural gas from Russia to be wrong. According to her, then it was more profitable than liquefied natural gas.
