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Sigmar Gabriel
Photo: teutopress GmbH via www.imago-im / teutopress / IMAGO
Ex-Federal Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) and the Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk had a bitter argument over Easter over Germany's Russia policy.
After Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's failed visit to Kyiv, Gabriel defended the former foreign minister.
Together with the then Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), Steinmeier did "more than anyone else in Europe" to support Ukraine, Gabriel wrote in a guest article for SPIEGEL.
In an interview, Melnyk accused Steinmeier of having "created a spider web of contacts with Russia for decades".
"Spiders' webs are known to be used for catching and then using the prey," Gabriel wrote in the article published on Sunday.
“Put to the point, this comparison suggests that the former Chancellor and Foreign Minister helped organize the representation of Russia's interests in Germany.
This is untruthful and malicious.”
Melnyk accuses the SPD of having brought about the war against Ukraine in the first place
Melnyk responded on Twitter: Above all, the “years of Putin-friendly politics” that Gabriel and his “SPD cronies” had led were malicious.
This "first brought about the barbaric war of annihilation" against Ukraine, Melnyk added.
»The processing is still to come.
Shame on you."
He also accused Gabriel of sweeping his responsibility for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project under the carpet: "You are concealing YOUR PERSONAL POLITICAL responsibility for Putin's Nord Stream 2 project, which you launched as Vice Chancellor in 2015."
Gabriel responds to this tweet: »Dear Mr. Ambassador, thank you very much for your reply.
But please read the article completely, then you will already see in the first paragraph that I do what you ask of me.
It would be fair if you would end your conspiracy theories about Germany in return.«
The background to the current dispute were Federal President Steinmeier's plans to travel to Kyiv together with his colleagues from Poland and the three Baltic states.
On Tuesday, however, he said the Ukrainian leadership had refused his visit.
This rejection "is unprecedented and irritating," judged Gabriel in his guest contribution.
It is understandable that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "wanted to express his anger and lack of understanding towards politicians from Germany and other EU countries for their earlier Russia and energy policies".
Here one had to "often even agree" with Selenskyj.
Russian media take up Gabriel's accusation of "conspiracy theories".
"What we should not accept, however, are conspiracy theories about our country's politics and those responsible," Gabriel added.
He described Melnyk's "spider web" statement as a "more dangerous variant of conspiracy theories".
The seriousness of Gabriel's accusation was shown by the reactions of the Russian media, which immediately took up his statement.
"Ex-head of Foreign Ministry accuses Ukrainian ambassador of spreading conspiracy theories," said a message from Russia's Tass agency.
Melnyk commented in a tweet that Gabriel was now getting "applause from the old confidants from Moscow!"
At the same time, the ex-minister defended the current position of the federal government on the subject of arms deliveries.
"Leadership in Europe also means recognizing the consequences of expanding this war," he wrote.
"And that's why it's right that the German federal government can only deliver heavy weapons - essentially tanks - to Ukraine in coordination with the United States of America."
Foreign policy and diplomacy "cannot be replaced by tanks and missiles in the long run," emphasized Gabriel.
In addition, »in the search for non-violent solutions to conflicts one has to take the very uncomfortable and usually very unpopular step« of putting oneself »in the shoes of the opponent.
Not to put on his shoes, but to measure the space for conceivable understandings.«
Steinmeier was head of the Federal Chancellery under Gerhard Schröder (SPD) from 1999 to 2005.
He was then Federal Foreign Minister until 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017.
Gabriel, in turn, was Foreign Minister from 2017 to 2018, before that he was Minister for the Environment and later for Economic Affairs.
The SPD has recently come under more and more pressure because of its sometimes lax policy towards Russia.
Not only ex-Chancellor Schröder is massively criticized because of his closeness to Russia.
Other SPD figures, such as the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, have long looked benevolently towards Moscow, obviously out of economic interests.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also hesitant about sanctions against Russia and arms deliveries to Kyiv.
But the SPD does not have sole responsibility for Russia policy under Steinmeier, for example - after all, the Foreign Minister did not decide on his own at the time whether to use the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline towards Ukraine.
mfh/AFP