The German ambassador appeared for talks at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. According to Count Lambsdorff, there is no direct connection to the “Taurus” wiretapping affair. In Germany the debate about coming to terms with it continues.
Three days after Russia published a leaked conversation between German air force officers, the German ambassador to Moscow, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, took part in a conversation at the Russian Foreign Ministry. The meeting was about “various bilateral topics,” said Count Lambsdorff after the end of the meeting. He did not provide any further information about the content of the conversation. However, the ambassador emphasized that he had not been summoned. The Foreign Office in Berlin also made it clear that it was not a summons. The ambassador was at the ministry for a long-arranged appointment.
Count Lambsdorff contradicted reports from the Russian state news agency Tass. Citing an anonymous source, they reported that the German ambassador had been summoned as a result of the recording of the Bundeswehr conversation published online. According to Count Lambsdorff, the meeting at the Foreign Ministry had already been arranged before the “Taurus” wiretapping scandal.
On Friday, Russian state television published a recording of a confidential telephone conference between high-ranking Bundeswehr officers on the Internet. In it you can hear Air Force chief Ingo Gerhartz talking to three subordinates about the possible use of German “Taurus” cruise missiles in Ukraine against the Russian attackers. The recording states that this was intended to prepare a briefing for Pistorius.
“Don’t all attack each other”
The federal government and Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised comprehensive clarification after publication. The FDP defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also pleaded joint morning magazine from ARD and ZDF for clearing up the incident calmly and with prudence. At the same time, she warned: “We have to be a little careful that we don’t all attack each other.” Because that is exactly the goal of Russian President Vladimir Putin, “that we are now at each other’s necks, so to speak.”
It is no surprise that Germany is being bugged, Strack-Zimmermann continued. Nevertheless, it is a “small revelation that Russia was listening in.” “The institutions in the Federal Republic of course have to look very closely to see to what extent we are actually technically prepared for these hybrid attacks.”
Pistorius urges prudence
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also called for prudence in dealing with the wiretapping scandal. He also warned that Russia was aiming for division with this “hybrid disinformation attack.” “We must not fall for Putin,” warned the SPD politician. At the beginning of next week, the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) is expected to present an initial report with information on the exact background to the incident. Only then can a decision be made about consequences – possibly also in terms of personnel. According to Pistorius, there is currently no evidence of further leaks or eavesdropping on further phone calls.
The Kremlin also commented on the published recording of the conversation today. This shows the West’s “direct involvement” in the “conflict” in Ukraine. “The recording itself suggests that the Bundeswehr is discussing substantial and concrete plans to attack Russian territory,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said that Russia would initially exercise restraint regarding the leaked call recording. However, the Russian government will not forget the incident, he said at a youth forum in southern Russia, according to the RIA news agency.
Union is pushing for comprehensive clarification
Ukraine has been demanding Germany deliver “Taurus” cruise missiles for months. So far, Chancellor Scholz has consistently rejected this demand. Today he reiterated his no. “It cannot be the case that you deliver a weapon system that has a very wide range and then don’t think about how control over the weapon system can take place,” emphasized Scholz at an appointment in Sindelfingen, Baden-Württemberg, adding: “And if you If you want to have control and it’s only possible if German soldiers are involved, that’s out of the question for me.” Instead, Scholz referred to the billions in military aid planned for Ukraine this year.
However, the fact that the leaked conversation discussed the possible use of German cruise missiles in Ukraine is used by the Union to clearly criticize Chancellor Scholz. His arguments are no longer understandable. In order to clear up the wiretapping affair, CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt called for an investigative committee. The CDU defense politician Roderich Kiesewetter also supported it Report from Berlin This option, including the use of a special investigator, is also possible.
The parliamentary managing director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei, spoke out in an interview with the broadcasters RTL and ntv in favor of first scheduling a special meeting of the Defense Committee. In addition, Chancellor Scholz will have to take a position on the wiretapping affair and the issue of “Taurus” deliveries in a government survey next week.
The SPD and the Greens reject it Committee of Inquiry away
The SPD and the Greens, however, reject a committee of inquiry. “That doesn’t help at all,” said SPD politician and former chairman of the Defense Committee, Wolfgang Hellmich, in an interview with MDR. Simply because the work of such a committee would take two to three years.
Green Party deputy Agnieszka Brugger also does not see an investigative committee as an “adequate means”. “Committees of inquiry are interesting when they are completed events that can be discussed publicly. Neither is the case here, the espionage continues,” she emphasized Bavarian Radio.