It would be naive not to prepare for the threat posed by Russian aggression, says the Vice Chancellor. And emphasizes: If Putin isn’t stopped, he won’t stop.”
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) has no hope for a quick and peaceful end to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. “We long for peace. Yes. But the honest, the bitter answer is: There probably won’t be a quick, good end, even if we wish otherwise,” he said in a video published on the platform X (formerly Twitter). with a view to the Easter holidays.
In view of Russian aggression, he emphasized: “We have to prepare for the threat situation. Anything else would be naive.” That’s why Germany is well advised to invest more in its own security. “We, Germany, the European Union, we have to protect ourselves in every way, including against military attacks.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine is the bloodiest that Europe has experienced since 1945. “Every day is a day of dying, and there is no end in sight. On the contrary, Putin’s Russia is completely switching to a war economy and massively increasing weapons production,” said Habeck, who is also economics minister. In recent weeks there have been arguments in Germany about the type and extent of support for Ukraine, “sometimes bitter and sometimes hurtful.” With his video for Easter he wanted to try to sort through the arguments and evaluate them from his perspective.
“I spoke out early on in favor of supplying arms to Ukraine, and I am now also advocating that we continue to support them with more and additional military material,” said Habeck. However, he has respect for a position that, for fundamental moral reasons or religious convictions, comes to a different conclusion than he does on the subject of arms deliveries to Ukraine. “I also understand only too well that people are afraid of an escalation of the war. I am also worried.” The question is what attitude and what actions are necessary to counter this threat. The government must continually deal with this.
Traffic light dispute: Habeck calls for moderation
Habeck had previously called for moderation in the traffic light coalition in the debate. “If we now argue about how we help and whether we deliver the Taurus cruise missile, Putin can sit back. That would be the stupidest thing we could do,” the economics minister told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
In contrast to the FDP and the Greens, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) strictly rejects a Taurus delivery. The statement by SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich about freezing the war in Ukraine also triggered criticism from the other two coalition partners. “We shouldn’t suspect each other of endangering the peace. The one who endangers the peace is Putin,” said Habeck. “The dead of this war are Putin’s dead. Nobody should capitalize on the situation, and we shouldn’t presume to want to capitalize either.”
When asked whether the dispute over Taurus would continue, he said that in the end the Federal Security Council would decide and that unanimity would be necessary. “If that’s missing, we can’t deliver. By the way, I think the balancing act that the Chancellor claims is absolutely right – even if I sometimes come to different conclusions.” The disagreement over Taurus should not obscure the fact that many other points are in agreement.
The Green politician called for understanding for support for Ukraine. You do it out of your own interest. “Putin not only wants to occupy Ukraine for his imperialist Great Russian Empire, but also destabilize liberal democracy beyond Ukraine. If Putin isn’t stopped, he won’t stop.”
Baerbock: Public discussion doesn’t get us anywhere
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned against continuing the public Taurus debate. “I have commented extensively on Taurus and do not believe that the ongoing public discussion on Taurus will take us one step further,” said the Green politician of the Funke media group. Part of the Russian war propaganda serves the purpose of dividing and destabilizing Western democracies. “We cannot allow that. This is especially true when we are facing elections – like now before the European or state elections in Germany.”
Merz warns of Ukrainian defeat
CDU leader Friedrich Merz believes that Ukraine’s defeat is increasingly likely. “The danger that exactly that will happen is increasing. I see developments in Ukraine with increasing concern,” said Merz to “Welt am Sonntag”. Contrary to expectations, Russia has not yet achieved its war goals. “But: Russia has now converted its entire economy to a war economy and is producing weapons and ammunition far in excess of current requirements. This means that Russia is rearming massively, significantly more than is used in the war against Ukraine.”
Merz once again emphasized the importance of a possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles. “The Taurus cruise missiles are not a miracle weapon. But with them, Ukraine could seriously affect the supply lines for the Russian army,” said the opposition leader. This is of great importance for Ukraine’s successful self-defense.