He wants to shake “Germany’s conscience”: Before meeting Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki criticized Germany’s reluctance to impose sanctions on Russia.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has accused Germany of “stony selfishness” in the Ukraine conflict. Morawiecki said on Saturday before a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in front of Polish journalists in Berlin that he wanted to “shake up Germany’s conscience” so that it would finally decide on “really crushing” sanctions against Russia. In addition to excluding Russia from the Swift system, Morawiecki also called for the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 to be stopped.
Scholz, Morawiecki and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda wanted to discuss the war in Ukraine in Berlin on Saturday. It should also be about punitive measures against Russia.
“Today is not the time for the kind of stony selfishness that we see in certain Western countries, including Germany,” Morawiecki said. In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, “all sanctions should now be on the table.” Morawiecki called for the end of both German-Russian Nord Stream pipelines. After Nord Stream 2 stopped, Nord Stream 1 would also have to be shut down, he said.
Sanctions against Vladimir Putin personally
In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the EU had imposed far-reaching sanctions against Russia. Among others, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov are personally affected by the punitive measures. Russian banks were also sanctioned.
However, disagreement persists as to whether Russia should also be excluded from the Swift international payments system. While Poland, France and Austria, among others, are in favor of decoupling Russia from Swift, Germany has so far rejected such a step.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) justified this on Friday, among other things, with the fact that Russia’s Swift exclusion would have a “broad effect” and also affect the Russian population. However, the aim is to sanction those responsible for the bloodshed in Ukraine.
Morawiecki also demanded that Germany supply arms to Ukraine. The Polish Prime Minister described the 5,000 protective helmets that Berlin had promised Ukraine as “a kind of joke”. Ukraine needs “real help”, i.e. “weapons”. The Ukrainians are not only fighting for themselves, “they are also fighting for us. For our freedom, our sovereignty. So that we are not next in line,” he stressed.
The politician from the national conservative party PiS accused the Russian government of “wanting to destroy the world as we know it”. The West must therefore “act now”. Warsaw has long advocated a tough stance on Russia within the EU and NATO.
Source: Stern
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