German Chancellor Angela Merkel gives a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president after their talks at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv on August 22, 2021.
SERGEY DOLZHENKO AFP | Getty Images
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine in her first public speech since leaving office last December.
Anticipating his comments, saying he did not want to give outside advice, Merkel described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “barbaric war of aggression”, a “far-reaching turning point” and the most “obvious violation of international law”. “In post-World War II Europe.
“My solidarity is with Ukraine, which was attacked and attacked by Russia,” the former leader of a German trade union event in Berlin on Wednesday night added, adding that Ukraine’s right to self-defense was indisputable.
Merkel, who has led Germany for 16 years, has come under serious scrutiny over the past few months for her history of friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and experience in expanding economic ties between Russia and Germany.
Many have criticized it for increasing Germany’s dependence on Russian energy imports, especially with the construction of the first Nord Stream gas pipeline between the two countries. It was also the driving force behind the now-defunct Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which its predecessor, Olaf Scholz, cut short just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) arrive at the plenary session of the G20 summit on July 7, 2017.
Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images
Merkel has not responded directly to these criticisms. Shortly after Russia launched its invasion, Merkel issued a brief statement saying she had no excuse for violating international law.
But her silence has since angered many critics, who accuse her of allowing Putin. Merkel insisted on maintaining communication and engagement with Putin even after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014 and the invasions of eastern Ukraine, which sparked EU sanctions against Russia.
CNBC asked the German Chancellery for comment.
Scholz, Merkel’s predecessor, now faces the task of reversing that record and has witnessed some of the most dramatic changes in German foreign policy since the end of World War II – namely an increase in German military spending and an agreement to send weapons to conflict. support zone for Ukraine.
Scholz said on Wednesday that Germany would send its IRIS-T air defense system to Ukraine, amid criticism that his government was still not doing enough to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
Also Wednesday, Germany’s parliamentary budget committee approved a historic 100 billion-euro ($ 106 billion) fund for the country’s army, which will go to the full parliament on Friday.
Add Comment