“Russian Fear of Democracy”
Steinmeier calls for trial of Putin and Lavrov
4/8/2022 1:03 p.m
Federal President Steinmeier has been sharply criticized for his attitude towards Russia and President Putin. In an interview, the former foreign minister admits misjudgments in the run-up to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. He sees Russia on the edge.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks out in favor of a trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before the International Criminal Court. “Everyone who is responsible for these crimes will have to justify themselves,” he told Der Spiegel. In addition to soldiers and their commanders, this also included those who were politically responsible.
The SPD politician, who has been repeatedly criticized for his closeness to Russia since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, also said that he had noticed a change in Putin. “This Putin of the year 2001 has nothing to do with the Putin of the year 2022, whom we are now seeing as a brutal, bunkered warmonger,” Steinmeier said, referring to a speech by Putin in the Bundestag in September 2001. This appearance “had me at the time too Given hope and brought with it responsibility for the federal government to help improve relations”. In 1999, Putin declared war on the autonomous Russian region of Chechnya.
As head of the chancellery under Gerhard Schröder (1999 to 2005) and federal foreign minister (2005 to 2009 and 2013 to 2017), Steinmeier met Putin several times. When asked by Der Spiegel whether, given these personal impressions, he expected the brutality displayed by Russian troops in Ukraine, he said: “I’ve witnessed the change in Russian politics, but to be honest: I was still hoping for a remnant of rationality from Vladimir Putin.” He did not assume that the Russian president “risked the total political, economic, moral ruin of his country in an imperial madness.”
Steinmeier answers Melnyk
The 66-year-old admits to one failure in having “worked all his political life to ensure that war never returns to Europe. That didn’t work out.” He used to believe that “Moscow could be afraid of the expansion of NATO,” but he is now aware that “Russia is afraid of the spread of democracy, of the longing for freedom and justice.” Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, not only Steinmeier, but other top figures in the SPD have been targeted for their pro-Russian stance.
One of the loudest critics is Andriy Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany. He has repeatedly called on Steinmeier and the federal government to draw conclusions from similar statements: “It is important for us that action now follows these statements. These actions are lacking.” He also specifically accused Steinmeier of having cultivated a “spider web” of contacts with Russia over the years. When asked specifically about this by “Spiegel”, Steinmeier replied: “The Ukraine, which is the victim of a criminal attack that violates international law […]has every right in the world to sue for solidarity, helpfulness and support.”
In addition, the Federal President is considering a trip to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, which was badly hit by the war. This Friday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Twitter that she was traveling by train to Kyiv with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell for talks. The heads of government of some other European countries have already gone to the Ukrainian capital to underline their solidarity with the country invaded by Russia.