The head of the German Navy Kay-Achim Schönbach will have to explain himself after having described, among other things, as “
nonsense
” the intentions attributed by NATO allies to Russia to invade Ukraine, it has been said. learned Saturday from the Ministry of Defense.
What Vladimir Putin wants "
is to be respected
", Vice Admiral Schönbach said according to a video circulating on the internet, filmed during a think tank meeting held on Friday in New Delhi.
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"
It's easy to give him the respect he wants, and probably deserves
," he adds.
The idea that Russia wants to invade part of Ukraine would be, according to him, “
a nonsense
”.
These statements “
do not correspond in any way to the position of the German Ministry of Defense
”, developed one of its spokespersons, contacted by AFP.
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The Admiral will have to explain himself
The vice-admiral will have to “
take a position
”, in other words explain himself “
to the chief of the defense staff
”, the highest ranking in the hierarchy of the Bundeswehr, he adds.
The statements of the head of the Navy come in the midst of a Russian-Western crisis around Ukraine.
Intense diplomatic efforts are currently being deployed on both sides to prevent the situation from degenerating, while tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are still massed on the Ukrainian border.
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After initially posting a tweet stating that his remarks were his own, Mr. Schönbach offered his apologies.
He thus described his statements as “
unthoughtful
”.
“
There is nothing to quibble about: it was clearly a fault,
” he wrote.
According to information from Der Spiegel, the remarks of this soldier with a hitherto irreproachable career have greatly irritated even the highest levels of the German government, led by the Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht organized a videoconference in the morning with Chief of Staff Eberhard Zorn to define how to deal with this case, according to the magazine.