A German Politician has said that neither sanctioning Russia or supplying weapons to Kiev will solve the ongoing military conflict between the two countries.
Mar 14, 2022
The Die Linke (The Left) Bundestag MP Sahra Wagenknecht said on Monday, that sending weapons to Ukraine and sanctioning the Kremlin will only perpetuate the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Alongside the U.S. and European countries, Germany has begun imposing sanctions on Russia following the beginning of Moscow’s special military operation on Ukrainian territory, resulting in Berling changing its policy of not arming Kiev.
“Every day people are dying in Ukraine. There is endless suffering and the country is being destroyed further and further. Neither sanctions nor arms deliveries will stop this horror. If you want to end it, you have to negotiate,” said the diplomat in an interview with Welt. Referring to Russia’s demands for peace, Wagenknecht suggested that these were a good point of departure for negotiations.
“The military says Ukraine cannot win this war. Anyone who wants Russian troops to withdraw must therefore offer something to Russia. Guaranteed neutrality would be reasonable for many reasons. What demilitarization means is something that must be negotiated,” Wagenknecht said.
“The Russian criticism has always referred to the effort to arm Ukraine with offensive weapons, and the country’s creeping integration into NATO. After all, there were already 2 000 U.S. soldiers in Ukraine, and NATO exercises were taking place on its territory,” the official said. “The promise of NATO membership did not help Ukraine.”
She also noted that the negotiation for a peaceful solution is possible if both sides are ready to “move towards one another” and agree to compromise.
„Verhandlungen sind alternativlos. Weder Sanktionen noch Waffenlieferungen werden das Sterben in der #Ukraine beenden.“ Mein Interview mit der #Welt: https://t.co/RJw1gSsMPA
— Sahra Wagenknecht (@SWagenknecht) March 13, 2022
“Negotiations are without alternative. Neither sanctions nor arms deliveries will stop dying in #Ukraine .”
Wagenknecht said she believes the weapons supply sent to Ukraine is only “prolonging the conflict, but will not result in Ukraine winning it. To do that, NATO would have to get involved militarily in a way that all sensible politicians have so far ruled out – because it would mean a confrontation with Russia, and Europe could become a nuclear battlefield. Therefore, any step in this direction would be irresponsible,” referring to why Die Linke’s continue to reject the German government’s policy of sending arms to Ukraine.
“We need a Bundeswehr that can defend our country. If they can’t do that with the current 47 billion euro military budget, where is the money going? NATO countries are already spending 18 times as much on armaments as Russia. Apart from the weapons makers, who will benefit if [we soon spend] 30 times as much?” she asked.
“Germany has a fundamental interest in stable relations with Russia and also in future economic and cultural cooperation. It always makes sense to try to understand the motives of the other side, which does not mean that you approve of them,” she concluded.
Published at www.telesurenglish.net
We remind our readers that publication of articles on our site does not mean that we agree with what is written. Our policy is to publish anything which we consider of interest, so as to assist our readers in forming their opinions. Sometimes we even publish articles with which we totally disagree, since we believe it is important for our readers to be informed on as wide a spectrum of views as possible.
