Ukrainian Ambassador: Melnyk: Steinmeier’s remorse must be followed by deeds

Ukrainian Ambassador: Melnyk: Steinmeier’s remorse must be followed by deeds

Just a few days ago, the Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin accused the German president of being politically close to Russia. After his error admission, further clear demands follow.

The Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, sees the admission of mistakes by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in dealing with Russia as only a “first step”.

“It is important for us that actions now follow these statements. These acts are missing, »said Melnyk on Tuesday on Deutschlandfunk. “Well, like many of my compatriots, I would wish that the Federal President would not only show this remorse, but that he would also demand that the Federal Government as head of state draw lessons from the Butscha massacre, from other atrocities that we Experience day and night now in Ukraine.» In concrete terms, this means, among other things, stricter sanctions and an energy embargo, said the ambassador.

Steinmeier, who was Foreign Minister from 2005 to 2009 and from 2013 to 2017, admitted for the first time on Monday that he had made mistakes and mistakes in his policy towards Russia. “My sticking to Nord Stream 2 was clearly a mistake,” he said. “We clung to bridges that Russia no longer believed in and that our partners warned us about.”

On Tuesday, Melynk not only called for consequences from politics. “We believe that what has happened here in Germany over the past two decades urgently needs to be addressed, not only politically, but also at the level of society and the media,” he said. The question is how Germany could have become “almost completely” dependent on the Russian state in terms of energy policy. Ukraine now has to pay for this dependency with the suffering of civilian victims.

In addition, Melnyk criticized Germany’s reluctance to deliver arms. “What we need today are heavy weapons, tanks, armored cars, artillery systems, multiple rocket launchers – what you can use to liberate the areas in the south and south-east,” said the ambassador. “You can’t launch a counteroffensive with a bazooka, unfortunately.” The federal government knows about it, but unfortunately has been silent so far.

Source: Stern

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