Green boss at Markus Lanz
Ukraine conflict: “The aggressor is Russia”
By Marko Schlichting
02/02/2022, 04:10 am
The new Greens co-leader Nouripour does not fundamentally rule out arms deliveries to Ukraine. With Markus Lanz, however, he refers to the current diplomatic efforts not to allow the conflict to escalate. You shouldn’t “let it go down the drain.”
In the currently smoldering Ukraine conflict, the positions of those involved are hardening. At a press conference with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi warned of a “wide-scale war in Europe”. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin also assumes that there is a risk of war if Ukraine becomes a member of NATO.
Meanwhile, attempts to resolve the conflict continue. The Greens co-chairman Omid Nouripour said on Tuesday evening with Markus Lanz on ZDF that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had made numerous trips to mediate in the conflict. One thing is clear: “Ukraine needs our support.” Nouripour called the deployment of Russian soldiers near the Ukrainian border “extremely threatening”.
“They wanted helmets, they get helmets”
Regarding the question of possible arms deliveries, Nouripour said this was not the issue at the moment. “We’ll talk about that when the time comes.” So far, Ukraine has demanded protective goods. “They wanted helmets, they get helmets,” said the politician. At the same time, he demanded: “Ukraine must state very clearly what it wants.” So far, the demands have been contradictory. One thing is clear to him: “We are currently not talking about arms deliveries, but about the diplomatic strands. And we say that we will do everything necessary if Russia does escalate, which we hope not.”
In any case, everything must be done at the moment “to ensure that diplomatic efforts don’t go down the drain,” said Nouripour.
“Consequences That Hurt”
Should there be a Russian escalation in the Ukraine conflict, Nouripour warned Russia of “the consequences that hurt.” The commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline remains unclear. “As Greens, we have always found Nord Stream 2 completely wrong,” says Nouripour. He is pleased that Chancellor Olaf Scholz has now made it clear that he knows that this project can no longer be continued in the event of Russian aggression.
“Clearly on the side of Ukraine”
Nouripour was annoyed by the statements made by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He had accused Ukraine of “saber rattling”. Nouripour: “Hopefully the ex-ex-Chancellor isn’t speaking for the SPD, but for his wallet.” Germany is on the side of international law. “So of course we are clearly on the side of Ukraine. And the aggression comes 100 percent from Russia,” said the Green Party leader.