“Anne Will” shows that the federal government is very afraid of Putin – and is therefore rejecting arms deliveries to Ukraine. But the arguments are just weak excuses.
Arian Yazdani Kohneschahry
Ukraine launched a counter-offensive in the east of the country in the past few days. But even after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kharkiv region, the region is still under fire. In the liberated areas near Izyum, the Ukrainian authorities discovered hundreds of dead civilians. The Kiev government speaks of war crimes.
Meanwhile, the federal government announced on Saturday that it would allow Ukraine to purchase German-made howitzers. The delivery of tanks is still refused. Should Germany also supply tanks to Ukraine? Does the Federal Republic have to assume a new military leadership role in Europe? The talk round on “Anne Will” discussed this.
Visiting Anne Will:
- Annalena Bärbock (Alliance 90 / The Greens, Federal Foreign Minister)
- Michael Mueller (SPD, Member of Parliament)
- Roderich Kiesewetter (CDU, member of the Bundestag and retired colonel)
- Egon Ramms (Retired General and former Commander-in-Chief NATO Allied Joint Force Command)
- Anne Applebaum (American-Polish historian and journalist)
Why is the federal government hesitating?
In an interview with Anne Will, Annalena Baerbock (Greens) explains that every week under Russian occupation would mean more atrocities and mass graves. According to the foreign minister, western weapons would bring about change in the war zone. When asked about a delivery of battle tanks, however, Baerbock gets caught up in a web of excuses:
“No other international partner is taking this step. We cannot go it alone.” As so often, the foreign minister explains: “The main battle tanks must be operated technically in such a way that they can make a difference in action.” A delivery alone does not make the difference.
Talk round dissects Baerbock’s argument
The journalist Anne Applebaum finds Germany’s actions hesitant. The Germans would be perceived internationally as if they were lagging behind. It lacks a clear statement by Germany in this war – a hint to Putin that the West stands together. The delivery of main battle tanks would be such a sign. Finally, US President Biden said clearly that each country can decide for itself which weapons it wants to supply.
The CDU member of the Bundestag, Roderich Kiesewetter, finds it difficult to understand the politics of the federal government. Kiesewetter is not afraid of an escalation of the war. He thinks Germany should supply tanks. general a D. Egon Rams agrees and explains that the training for the battle tanks is not nearly as complex as for many other weapons that Germany had already delivered to the Ukraine.
“Putin is using the language of terror to shape our politics”
SPD politician Michael Müller has a completely different opinion than the rest of the panel discussion. He thinks it’s “worrying” when a German politician says he’s not afraid of an escalation of the war. After all, “prudence” is also part of the actions of a leading power. It remains unclear what Müller means by this phrase.
Anne Applebaum shows impressively that Putin is a man of big and empty threats. Putin had threatened that bad things would happen if Finland and Sweden joined NATO or if the West supplied arms to Ukraine. Both happened, but there were no bad consequences. Applebaum’s appeal is therefore that Germany should listen more to the words of the Ukrainians and less to the words of Putin, who uses the language of terror and threats to influence our politics.
Source: Stern
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