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The situation in the morning: nobody has to build a bridge for Putin

2022-05-19T03:52:55.570Z


The haggling over Finland and Sweden joining NATO. Scholz could explain a few things in his government statement. And: Elon Musk now wants to be a Republican. This is the situation on Thursday.


How NATO argues about Finland and Sweden

The

NATO accession of Finland and Sweden

should be proof of renewed strength for the alliance: After a long-standing crisis of identity, the Russian attack on Ukraine brought them together and they found a purpose again.

The fact that the two traditionally neutral states want to join the alliance proves their indispensability.

Recently, even Austria and Switzerland have been considering whether they should redefine their neutrality and reconsider their relationship with NATO.

But now the accession of the northern European countries threatens to turn into a

haggling

that splits NATO: On the one hand, there is

Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , who continues to

veto

the accession of both states

.

The next few days will show what kind of consideration Erdoğan wants in order to give his approval after all - in addition to American F35 jets, this also includes demands that the two new members not be allowed to support the Kurds in northern Syria.

It is difficult to imagine that Erdoğan will see the blockade through to the end, but of course it cannot be ruled out.

But now

Croatian President Zoran Milanović

has announced his opposition to enlargement.

He demands a change in the electoral law in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This is of course grotesque.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who has been at odds with the president for a long time, could well override such a veto with his parliamentary majority.

But the absurd story shows the danger: If one of the NATO states now wants to blackmail the other or even take their domestic disputes out to Finland and Sweden, the alliance will be weakened and divided – and Vladimir Putin could be happy.

The

military leaders responsible for the defense of the alliance are meeting in

Brussels

today at the

NATO summit –

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

will also be present.

US President Joe Biden will also receive the Finnish President and the Swedish Prime Minister in Washington

- and he is probably the only one who can say anything like a word of power on the matter.

And soon it will probably have to.

  • Desire to join the military alliance: what Sweden has to offer NATO 

You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:

  • That happened at night:

    Kiev justifies the extension of martial law until August.

    Bridget Brink is the new US Ambassador to Ukraine.

    And: Northeast Ukrainian areas apparently shelled from Russia.

    The overview.

  • In Russian violence:

    About 260 fighters have left the Mariupol steelworks - and handed themselves over to the attackers.

    Kyiv is planning a prisoner exchange, but the Kremlin seems to have other plans.

    Moscow politicians want the death penalty. 

  • Baerbock warns of an unprecedented global hunger crisis:

    "Russia is not only waging its brutal war with tanks, rockets and bombs": Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has accused Moscow of using the blockade of grain exports from Ukraine as a weapon.

  • Russian soldier pleads guilty to the murder of a civilian:

    A soldier is on trial in Kiev in the first trial of atrocities committed by the Russian military in Ukraine.

    According to media reports, at the beginning of the trial, the accused confessed to the murder of an unarmed 62-year-old.

Scholz is going to The Hague to discuss specific things

Today is a day of international travel diplomacy:

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz

is traveling to The Hague - it is his

inaugural visit to the Netherlands

, where he will probably also exchange views with Prime Minister Mark Rutte about the joint delivery and training of the

Panzerhaubitze 2000

to the Ukraine.

The fact that Scholz is actually physically traveling to the Netherlands probably means that he has something very specific to discuss there - because that was the reason he recently gave for not traveling to Kyiv: he is not a friend of photo shoots and only wants to go there, when there are »very specific things« to discuss.

There will probably still be a photo session with Rutte, and Scholz himself will certainly know best

whether he has more important things to discuss with the Dutch Prime Minister than there are with Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy .

A solution seems to have been found in the sluggish

arms swap

between

Germany

,

Slovakia

and

Ukraine

: Germany wants to deliver 15 relatively modern Leopard 2 tanks to the Czech Republic in order to offset Czech deliveries to Ukraine.

  • Scholz's stuttering Bundeswehr plans: why the turning point is not progressing 

Why nobody needs to build a bridge for Putin

Before his trip,

Scholz made a

government

statement in the Bundestag

.

It would be an opportunity for the chancellor

to clarify his

position on Ukraine .

There hasn't been a lack of opportunities in the past few days, but all the interviews, tweets and appearances have left many questions unanswered.

The crucial one is: Does Scholz believe that Ukraine must be vigorously supported with all military means in order to repel the Russian attack and achieve

victory

?

Or does he tend to believe that a

ceasefire

should be reached as soon as possible and Russian President

Vladimir Putin

have to build a bridge, have to meet him somehow?

The latter is the attitude that seemed to speak from his own statements over the past few days.

The same was said recently by

Emmanuel Macron

, who behaves in many ways similar to Scholz in relation to Ukraine.

Macron said Russia could feel "humiliated."

The concern seems misplaced in the short term when Ukrainian cities are still being surrounded and destroyed.

But even in the long term, the search for a "way out" for Putin is misleading.

The idea behind this is that Putin has miscalculated and now needs help to get back on track.

However, this idea does not correspond to reality.

Putin

has been pursuing an

openly imperialist agenda

since at least 2014 – he started the war against Ukraine back then, the February 24 attack was just the next step.

Should there be a ceasefire, it will only be a breather for Putin to bring the war to an end in a few years.

That's why the notion, widely voiced in Germany, that a face-saving solution must now be found for Putin is wrong.

Rather, Ukraine should be strengthened militarily so that it can not only reconquer most of its territory, but can also better ward off future attacks.

Nobody has to find a way out for Putin: Since he is operating in a

dictatorship

with a completely state-controlled media, he could

sell a change

of course at any time himself - announce a victory, let the propaganda cheer him on, his system has enough experience in that.

  • German Reactions to the Ukraine War: The Return of the German Angst 

Today: Federal Constitutional Court, Bundestag

It is not an unimportant day

for

domestic politics .

A number of important decisions are expected: The

Federal Constitutional Court

will publish its final decision on whether the

corona vaccination requirement for nursing and health workers

is constitutional - in February it refused to stop it in an emergency procedure and it has therefore already been implemented, but one more will follow today written decision.

And the Bundestag is expected to vote on a whole range of laws, including the

Corona relief

package, the

9-euro ticket

for the train, the accelerated construction of

LNG terminals

to phase out Russian gas supplies and the enforcement of

Russia -Sanctions

- so many things that had already been announced in the past few weeks, but are now being decided.

  • Relief package: The nine-euro confusion at German universities

SPIEGEL war correspondents talk about their research

The

next date in our digital event series

»SPIEGEL Backstage«

will take place on

Tuesday, May 24th at 6:00 p.m.

You have the opportunity to ask our reporters

Alexander Sarovic

and

Thore Schröder

questions about their work in Ukraine - both report from there for SPIEGEL about the war.

Among other things, Thore Schröder documented the war crimes of Russian soldiers in the small town of Bucha near Kyiv and later spoke to people who were locked up in the Azov steelworks in Mariupol for weeks.

Alexander Sarovic drove to the Donbass front with an army captain and reported on the battle for Kharkiv, the country's second largest city.

What did the two journalists experience?

How can they research under wartime conditions?

Which risks do they take – and which do they not?

You can ask the two reporters all of this at SPIEGEL Backstage.

The event is exclusively for subscribers, but we are giving away ten free entries.

Interested parties write to: info@events.spiegel.de, subject: SPIEGEL Backstage Raffle.

Closing date for entries is Friday, May 20 at 12 noon.

If you are already a subscriber, you can register here.

  • SPIEGEL journalists in conversation with subscribers: researching during the war

Loser of the day...

…is

Elon Musk

.

The man who was about to buy

Twitter

for $44 billion has been plagued by a massive bout of buyer regrets for some time before the money has flown.

He wants to lower the price, because the

stock

market price has plummeted since his purchase announcement , and so he is now

tweeting

about alleged fake accounts about which he was not sufficiently informed, he is attacking Twitter because of an alleged liberal list, he is sending the CEO of Twitter laughing excrement emojis.

It looks like Musk is at his wits' end – and wants to shoot down the company he allegedly wanted to buy and, if necessary, sink it.

Ironically, the electric car mogul Musk has now also announced that he wants to

vote for Republicans

in the future - because the Democrats are the party of division and hatred.

Which is surprising when you see that in the USA the Republicans are attacking the electoral system and increasingly electing extremists to political offices.

For example, in Tuesday's primary, the Republicans picked a man for the governorship of Pennsylvania who would not certify a Joe Biden victory in 2024.

What's up with Musk?

The boy prodigy is becoming a maniac, maybe he's spending too much time alone or on social media - he's not only damaging Twitter, but himself as well.

The latest news from the night

  • Frankfurt triumphs in the final of the Europa League:

    Eintracht Frankfurt has crowned an outstanding European Cup season and won the Europa League.

    The Bundesliga side defeated Glasgow Rangers in the final.

    The decision was made on penalties.

  • More money and days off for educators:

    There has been a breakthrough in the collective bargaining dispute between the social and educational services: Employees receive a flat rate of two additional days off and can convert part of their salary into two additional days off.

  • Greece lifts the requirement to wear masks indoors:

    From June, people in Greece will no longer have to wear a mask inside shops, restaurants, theaters and museums.

    The easing should initially apply until the end of the tourist high season.

The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today

  • Is the EU repeating the mistakes of the Warsaw Pact?:

    Suddenly everyone in Brussels is talking about independence – and I mean self-sufficiency.

    This will take revenge. 

  • Fear of the next time bomb:

    After ten years, Paul Achleitner is stepping down as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank.

    It was a time of scandals and failed new beginnings.

    How safe is the money house today? 

  • Ten Questions to Ask Your Partner

    Most people think that being interesting is one of the most important things in a relationship.

    Wrong, says the psychologist couple John and Julie Gottman: It is all about being interested. 

  • “I had a bad conscience about transferring money to myself”:

    Elisa Czerski didn’t dare to do it for a long time – now, at the age of 28, she runs her own robotics company.

    Here she shares what she thought would be easier before and how her friendships are suffering. 

I wish you a good start into the day.

Yours, Mathieu von Rohr

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-05-19

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