The head of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) faction in the Bundestag, Rolf Mutzenich, was indignant at the assessment of Berlin’s peacekeeping efforts given by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
Recall that in a conversation with Trump Zelensky complained that Angela Merkel, like French President Emmanuel Macron, did not help Kiev enough. In turn, the American president noted that the United States "spends a lot of time and effort" on Ukraine, and Germany "does nothing"
"You are absolutely right. Not just one hundred percent, but one thousand percent, ”Zelensky said.
The German publication Spiegel notes that the Ukrainian leader, in an attempt to earn the trust of Trump, actually insulted the German government
“First of all, it was the German Chancellor and the then Foreign Minister Steinmeier who did everything to ensure that the region does not become a hotbed of military conflict,” said Rolf Mutzenich, head of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) faction in a commentary to the publication.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who now holds the post of President of Germany, was Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2013-2017. At that time, he made a significant contribution to the conclusion of the Minsk agreements. Even the expression “Steinmeier formula” appeared for the plan proposed by the German side for holding local elections in the Donbass with a special status for this region.
Dissatisfaction with the content of Zelensky’s conversation with Trump was also expressed by the Chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Policy Committee, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Norbert Röttgen.
“The Europeans provided Ukraine with funds in the double-digit amount measured in billions and introduced a program of sanctions against Russia, which was not even in the Cold War,” he said.
“Victim of the situation”
However, it should be noted that German politicians consider not so much the president of Ukraine as Donald Trump as the "initiator" of the current situation. The same Norbert Röttgen claims that Zelensky’s conversation with Trump is a vivid evidence of the American leader’s use of his power in personal interests, as well as “against Germany and all of Europe”.
- Angela Merkel
- Reuters
- © Michele Tantussi
Europeans don't like Trump’s rhetoric, which is often criticized by leading EU countries, experts say.
As for Zelensky, the opinion of the European society has not yet formed on him, says Mikhail Pogrebinsky, director of the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflictology.
“Zelensky does not conduct any foreign policy. He has no intelligible course. He is surrounded by completely inexperienced people, they do not quite understand what to achieve. Nothing definite can be said even when it comes to domestic politics, ”said Pogrebinsky in an interview with RT.
At the same time, experts believe that Zelensky created an extremely negative background for further communication with the leaders of the EU countries.
“Some shifts in the attitude of Germany to the domestic and foreign policies of Ukraine may follow. This, perhaps, will manifest itself in the attitude of German diplomacy towards the settlement of the conflict in the Donbass. Still, Zelensky allowed himself a very disrespectful statement about Germany, in fact, he began to complain to Trump without any special, from the point of view of Berlin, grounds, ”said Igor Maksimychev, leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to him, it is necessary to make an amendment to the fact that Zelensky did not assume that his conversation with the American leader would be published. However, the Ukrainian leader still made a mistake, the expert said.
“The Ukrainian leader needs money, without which the country will simply perish. He has everything else that the West can give now: moral support, refusal to recognize the decision of the Crimean population, everywhere, in any documents, it’s not about a civil war, but about how to “restrain” Russia. But there is no money, ”says Maksimychev.
Analysts also recalled the difficult relationship between the IMF and Kiev. Earlier, the International Monetary Fund noted the low results of Ukraine in the fight against corruption.
In such circumstances, Zelensky needs to build strong relations with France and especially with Germany, on which various financial programs through the EU depend.
“Trump, of course, has a pre-election interest in Ukraine,” said Maksimychev.
According to him, Zelensky “in a certain sense can be called a victim of an unprecedented situation in international politics that is taking shape before our eyes.”
“Heads of state can no longer speak face to face. Diplomacy without trust, without being able to talk without journalists is the end of diplomacy as such, ”says Maksimychev.
“It’s so easy to not be forgotten”
In turn, opponents of trump for his conversation with Zelensky threaten the 45th president of the United States with impeachment. The launch of this procedure was supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The investigation was based on Trump's attempts to obtain incriminating evidence against his campaigner rival Joe Biden with the help of the Ukrainian president.
- Flags of Germany, Ukraine and the EU
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- © Wolfgang Kumm / dpa
Political scientists note that, most likely, Zelensky’s revelations in his conversation with the “great teacher” (as he called the American leader) will not pass without leaving a trace for the Ukrainian leader.
So, in Ukraine, after the confidential dialogue of the presidents was announced, a petition appeared on the website of online appeals to the head of state. Its authors propose Zelensky to unveil transcripts of all his conversations with Vladimir Putin.
“We remind you that you are the president of Ukraine, and not a private person, therefore these conversations are not and cannot be private private conversations,” it is written in the text of the appeal.
The petition was created on September 28 and, at the time of publication, gained more than 4 thousand signatures. According to Ukrainian law, in order for the president to consider it, it is required to collect 25 thousand signatures in 90 days.
Meanwhile, analysts believe that Zelensky should not expect any high-profile internal political consequences.
“In Ukrainian society, the attitude“ I trust him and expect him to solve all problems ”is still held. Under these conditions, no accusations of Zelensky are terrible. Then the situation, of course, will change. But this will happen after some time, ”says Pogrebinsky.
From his point of view, Zelensky thoroughly spent the credit of trust in relations with Western leaders. Pogrebinsky believes that the Ukrainian president, who recently occupied the highest state post and does not have much political experience, only has to find a common language with European leaders.
“Of course, after it became known that he spoke to Trump, his personal attitude to Zelensky will deteriorate. He behaved inappropriately, and of course, they won’t forget it so easily, ”the expert concluded.