Did the German Foreign Minister, Alanana Barbuk, play into Russia's hands?
In her appearance at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Barbock was asked by a British representative what the German government could do more for Ukraine, beyond statements.
"Yes, we need to do more," the minister replied in English, "but the most important and fateful thing is that we do it in Europe together and not with mutual accusations in the background. Because we are at war against Russia and not against each other."
The conversation took place before Berlin's historic announcement that it would supply Kiev with "Leopard 2" tanks.
Barbock's statement is in complete contradiction to the official policy of Germany and NATO, according to which Berlin and the Transatlantic Military Alliance, of which Germany is a member, support Ukraine militarily as well, but are not directly involved in the war with Russia.
Russia was quick to hang on to this sentence, as it matched the regular Russian rhetoric: the war Russia is supposedly waging not against Ukraine but against NATO. "The West is waging a pre-planned war against Russia," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a statement clarifying and correcting the minister's words.
"Russia is waging a brutal war against Ukraine. It is also a war against peace in Europe and international law. The minister said that Europe must stand together against this war. Supporting Ukraine does not make Germany a side in this war."
However, this explanation does not convince the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Schulz, who does not stop declaring that Germany is not at war against Russia.
The "Bild" reports this morning about growing anger in the chancellor's office about the foreign minister, who enjoys the highest popularity among the ministers of the current German government.
As soon as he began his journey in South America, Schultz declared: "We completely rule out the possibility of a war between NATO and Russia.
We will do as much as we can, so that this does not happen."
In the chancellor's office, an accurate record of all the "mistakes" of the minister from the "Greens" party was made: in recent weeks, she made statements that criticized the chancellor's hesitant position regarding the supply of tanks to Ukraine. Public criticism against the regime in Beijing, and last summer - when Russia began to reduce the supply of gas to Germany - Barbuk warned of "popular uprisings in Germany", while the chancellor worked to calm the fears among the German population about an energy crisis.
The crisis of trust between the chancellor and his foreign minister led Schulz to annex the field of foreign policy to his fields of activity.
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