As of: March 6, 2024, 12:14 p.m
By: Jens Kiffmeier
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Split
The federal government wants to boil down the Bundeswehr wiretapping affair.
Meanwhile, new attacks are coming from Russia.
At least one attempt went wrong.
Berlin - German generals talk shop about Taurus missiles on the Crimean Bridge - the recorded phone call to the Bundeswehr Air Force is a found meeting for Russia's propaganda.
Since its publication, the Kremlin has exploited the confidential conversation - and continues to assume that the federal government is planning to attack Russia.
But a reporter on Russian state TV made an embarrassing mistake.
Indirectly, he also gave the traffic light coalition a helping hand in the information war launched by Russia.
Bundeswehr wiretapping affair: Propaganda TV sets a new trap for Ambassador Graf von Lambsdorff
The propaganda flop accompanied a planned visit by German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
A reporter from state broadcaster
RT
ambushed the German diplomat outside the door on Monday (April 4) and blocked his way.
“Why are you attacking German targets?” the correspondent asked twice, as
Bild
reported.
Only then did he apparently realize that that didn't make much sense - and he corrected himself.
Why, he then wanted to know in his third question, did Germany want to attack Russian territory?
Alexander Graf von Lambsdorff, German ambassador in Moscow, does not allow himself to be lured into traps by Russia's propaganda in the Tarus affair.
© Carsten Koall/Uncredit/dpa/Montage
The wiretapping scandal also caused a big stir on day three.
On Friday (March 1), Russia released a recorded conversation between senior Air Force officers in which they discussed operational scenarios for the German Taurus cruise missile - if it were to be delivered to Ukraine.
The possible destruction of the bridge built by Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in violation of international law, is also being discussed.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) confirmed the authenticity of the recording on Sunday.
Russian Ambassador Lambsdorff defends himself: no call-up due to Taurus leak
Against this background, the appointment of the German ambassador to the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow also received a lot of attention.
According to the Foreign Office, this was a date that had been agreed upon for a long time.
“There was an invitation to talk about various bilateral topics,” Lambsdorff told the
dpa
news agency in Moscow.
But it was not a summons, he emphasized.
Lambsdorff contradicted the portrayal of the Russian media.
The Russian state news agency
Tass
, citing an anonymous source, reported that it was a summons because of the recently published recordings.
The episode shows how tough the fight is for the authority to interpret the affair.
In any case, the federal government itself believes that it is exposed to hybrid warfare by the Kremlin.
The Taurus leaks are “absurd and infamous propaganda,” deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner made it clear again on Monday at the federal press conference.
Behind this is an attempt to divide society in Germany and Europe.
“But no one should fall for Vladimir Putin,” he warned.
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But regardless of the Russian narrative in the affair, the intercepted phone call continues to raise many questions.
How was Russia even able to get the recording?
Did the four Air Force officers ignore safety regulations?
Or is there a fundamental problem with hybrid attacks on communication technologies in Germany?
Defense Minister Pistorius has promised a comprehensive clarification of the background.
But that's not enough for the opposition.
The Union has already called for the establishment of a committee of inquiry.
In any case, Russia is not trying to de-escalate.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov followed up on Monday and demanded that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) provide a comprehensive explanation of the affair.
“We hope that we will find out somehow, even through the media, what conclusion the investigation has reached,” he told the
Interfax
news agency and once again called the affair evidence of the direct involvement of Western states in the war that Russia is waging against the Ukraine leads.
The recording shows that the Bundeswehr is planning concrete strikes against Russian territory.
It is now important to find out whether the Bundeswehr is organizing such simulation games on its own initiative or whether this is part of German state policy.
Word of power from the Chancellor: Olaf Scholz continues to reject Taurus delivery
However, Scholz had repeatedly rejected delivery of the Taurus missiles requested by Ukraine, citing concerns that this could be misunderstood in Russia.
On Monday he made it clear once again that he did not want to give in to the pressures of the Ukrainian government, the opposition and parts of his coalition.
“I am the Chancellor, and that’s why this applies,” he confirmed his no with a kind of power word.
(
jkf
)