“Putin reacts to raw power”
Poland’s foreign minister speaks to the conscience of German politics
April 28, 2024, 2:39 a.m
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Chancellor Scholz still does not want to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. The reason is the concern that Germany could be drawn into the Ukraine war. However, Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski does not lose hope for a rethink.
After the delivery of long-range US missiles to Ukraine, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski is hoping that Chancellor Olaf Scholz will change his mind and no longer deny the attacked country German Taurus cruise missiles. “I hope the Chancellor feels encouraged by the events of the last few days,” said Sikorski in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag” in Warsaw. He described the delivery of additional US cruise missiles to Ukraine as a “reaction to the Russian escalation” in Ukraine, to which Germany also had to react. “The Russians have already shut down 70 percent of Ukraine’s power generation capacity. This is actually a war crime,” Sikorski said.
A few days ago it became known that Ukraine had received long-range ATACMS missiles from the USA. However, the Pentagon did not provide any specific information as to whether these were models with a range of around 300 kilometers or those with a shorter range. The media reported that these were those with a greater reach. The USA had already sent ATACMS missiles with a shorter range last year.
Scholz strictly rejects supplying Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. He fears that Germany could be drawn into the war if the missiles with a range of 500 kilometers were made available. There are also repeated discussions that Russian head of state Vladimir Putin could use tactical nuclear weapons in the event of deliveries of powerful weapons.
“Putin only reacts to raw power”
Sikorski believes these fears are unfounded. “There are no physical signs that warheads were taken out of storage. We would know in advance whether they would do that,” explains the Polish Foreign Minister in the “Bild am Sonntag”.
In any case, Putin cannot decide on the use of nuclear weapons on his own: “These are not weapons that he has at the push of a button. There is a normal chain of command from the Defense Ministry and the General Staff to use them. So he has to persuade his generals to carry out such an order “These generals would know that carrying out such an order would mean becoming a war criminal. At that point, they would have the choice of either carrying out such an order or getting rid of Putin.”
The message from the Polish Foreign Minister is clear: one must be tough when dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin as an aggressor in the Ukraine war. “I think we all know now that Putin only responds to pressure, to the harshest arguments of raw power,” says Sikorski.
“I hope people listen to us now”
However, the 63-year-old doubts whether this message has reached Germany: “German politicians seem to be satisfied that Russia will only be ready in four to five years and by then Germany will be ready. But the point is that “Russia has to reach some other countries before it comes to Germany,” he says in the interview, referring to a possible Russian attack on the Baltic countries or Poland itself, a NATO partner.
“We have a choice: either we have a defeated Russian army outside the borders of Ukraine or a victorious Russian army on the border with Poland,” warns Sikorski. “It’s better to stop Putin in Ukraine, 500 to 700 kilometers east of here.”
The Polish Foreign Minister also hopes that German politicians have learned from the mistakes of their Russia policy: “We warned Germany about it, for example with Nord Stream, and they didn’t listen to us back then. I hope they listen to us now. “