The chairman of the Bundestag Defense Committee has sharply criticized the decisions taken by Angela Merkel during her tenure and, indirectly, accused the former chancellor of complicity in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Referring to the Bucharest summit in 2008 at which NATO countries promised Ukraine an early accession into the alliance, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann told German TV channels RTL and n-tv: "The fact that Ukrainians did not get into NATO was a big mistake made by the French and Angela Merkel at the time".
The summit was also attended by President Putin who made it clear that Russia would oppose any move to offer membership to both Ukraine and Georgia. Ultimately the proposal failed because Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy opposed it out of consideration for Russia’s stated position.
Merkel continued to defend her decision even after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, her spokeswoman released a statement in April 2022 saying that she, "stands by her decisions in relation to the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest."
Strack-Zimmermann also believes that Germany should have sided with Ukraine and supported it with weapons after the Russian full-scale invasion. She considered, however, that it would be necessary to "rewrite the history of Angela Merkel, especially the history of the last few years and complete miscalculations."
Strack-Zimmermann, a politician from the German Free Democratic Party (FDP), commenting on the prospects of the conflict suggested that it is unlikely to last as long as the First or Second World Wars. She told the interviewers that "the war definitely won't last four or five years," adding that Putin had not expected such broad and constant support for Ukraine from western countries.
Ukrainian Musical Breakthrough
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Comments (3)
Just came across this article whilst doing some research and Strack-Zimmermann's thinking is just too absurd for words. She must know that Putin/Russia was never-ever gonna let Ukraine become a member of Nato *AND* but for Merkel and Sarkozy objecting at the time (2008), Russia would have taken military action way back then at some point (unless its security concerns were addressed).
I don't know what Merkel and Sarkozy said exactly at the time, but in June of last year - as widely reported in the MSM around the world - Merkel said the reason she opposed Ukraine becoming a Nato member is because Putin/Russia would have perceived it as a 'declaration of war' (by Nato). And she was right of course, and then finally, some fourteen years later, and after being provoked again and again by the US and its European allies, Putin reacted to prevent that from happening and, as such, proving Merkel (and Sarkozy) right.
I mean how does anyone think the US would have reacted if Russia was planning to set up military bases in Mexico, or on some Caribbean island!
Frau Angela Ribbentrop Merkel I've called her since 2015 and for good reason.
I don't blame refugees-luckseekers but OUR politicians for migrationcrisis, in 2015 we've had migration weapon of Putin in Syria, where NATO should have provided a safe sky, but Obama refused, like Obama refused any comment on russia's invasion in Crimea or Donbass, he called it a incursion a year-long! And yes NATO should have also provided a safe sky in Ukraine.
In 2004! I wrote on dutch forum a proposal to end the asylumcris, by ONLY allowing a paper application from a migrant/asylumseeker own or neighbourcountry thru its embassy/consulate, so changing 1951 UN Refugeetreaty, so that no people smuggling can be awarded by a legal status, since they are not legal but illegal migrants. Then the whole migrantcrisis would not have been like present. Now people smugglers and NGO's made it so. EUrope pays more then 50% of all UN costs incl. missions, and also 68% of all strict NATO costs, (excl. USA warmongering costs) so there should have been a EUropean NATO commander and EU should have used its financial weight in UN to remove ruzzia from (UN)SC
The best thing that ever happened to Germany is merkle is no longer in charge and her opinion no longer counts. Shes always been pro russian.
@Gazza,