Schroeder slams Merkel’s Russia policy

Former German chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, has lashed out at his successor, Angela Merkel over her policies towards Russia, saying he understands Moscow’s foreign policy concerns.
Schroeder made the remarks in an interview with the German daily Der Spiegel published on Saturday.

The former chancellor who ruled Germany from 1998-2005 said he fully recognizes Moscow’s concerns as since the Eastern European defense alliance, the Warsaw Pact, ceased to exist with the end of the Soviet Union, the Western military alliance “NATO not only survived, but also has extensively expanded to the East.”

Schroeder added that he sees no grounds to fear a possible Russian threat in Eastern Europe and Russia would not “consider placing in question the territorial integrity of Poland or the Baltic states.”
In addition, Schroeder insisted that attempts by the United States and the European Union (EU) to internationally isolate Russia over the crisis in Ukraine are “wrong,” arguing, “It is during a crisis that dialogue should be maintained.”

Western governments, including Germany have imposed sanctions on Russia, accusing Moscow of interfering in neighboring Ukraine. However, the Kremlin denies the accusation.

According to Schroeder, Berlin should have prevented the European Commission (EC) from “holding talks on Ukraine’s association with the EU solely with Kiev without involvement of Moscow.”

A political crisis erupted in Ukraine in November 2013 when the country’s then president, Viktor Yanukovych, refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Moscow.

The move sparked pro-EU protests, with its center in Kiev’s Maidan Square, and in February 2014, Yanukovych was ousted by Western-backed groups. The ouster triggered in its turn pro-Russian protests in the country’s southern and eastern regions.

Complete story at - PressTV-Schroeder slams Merkel’s Russia policy

The Political Motivation Of Chancellor Merkel’s Embrace Of Yulia Tymoshenko, And War | Dances With Bears

By John Helmer, Moscow

Two-front wars in Europe aren’t good for Germany.

Kaiser Wilhelm and Adolph Hitler don’t need to rise from their graves to make the point to the present German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. But is it her policy to pursue war against Russia in the east, and against Greece in the south, while claiming the conflicts have been forced on her by chekist Russians and chekist Greeks? The German characterization of both enemies as chekist comes from a high-level German figure who is close to the Chancellery and how Merkel thinks. In Berlin’s version of war in Europe, the new Nazis are in Moscow and Athens.

As for one of the leaders of the war party in Kiev, Merkel has privately and publicly endorsed every claim of Yulia Tymoshenko, promoting her release from prison and protecting her campaigns for war against Russia, even though – according to the high-level German source – “they [Chancellery, Foreign Ministry] have known for years that [Tymoshenko] was a crook.”

Since the civil war in Ukraine started after President Victor Yanukovich was ousted from Kiev on February 21, 2014, Merkel has repeatedly said in public that if Germany gives military support to the Kiev side, it will lead to war between Germany and Russia. This is how she said it after meeting with President Vladimir Putin at the G20 conference in Brisbane, Australia, last November: “This [Ukraine] conflict is not to be solved militarily. This would lead to a military engagement with Russia which would with certainty not be a local one.” Manipulation by Merkel’s aides of what she meant, as distinct from what she said, led to this cut and pasting in the Anglo-American press.

The Brisbane meeting was for Merkel a “turning point”, according to the Financial Times version, reported this week (February 2). According to the authorized Merkel leak, “a person familiar with the meeting”, Putin “shocked” Merkel by proposing that the Kiev government should resolve the conflict in Donbass “by buying them off with autonomy and money. A reasonable idea, perhaps, to an ex-KGB colonel. But for an East German pastor’s daughter, with a deeply-ingrained sense of fairness, this was unacceptable.”

Complete story at - The Political Motivation Of Chancellor Merkel’s Embrace Of Yulia Tymoshenko, And War | Dances With Bears

Merkel Could Have Brokered Peace in Ukraine. Instead She Fanned the Flames - Russia Insider

For at least six months, I have been trying to fathom Angela Merkel’s policy on Russia. Finally, the Eureka moment has arrived.

Let us recall for a moment that in the spring of 2014, following the coup d’etat in Kiev that brought to power the radical nationalists of the Maidan movement, and soon after the Russian response became clear and the fate of Crimea hung in the balance, the consensus of political commentators was that Angela Merkel would be the honest broker reconciling Russia and the United States. As an Ossie and Russian speaker, she was said to have a special relationship with Vladimir Putin and could find solutions to patch things up like no one else.

However, with the passage of time, Frau Merkel emerged as the leading force on the Continent working against Putin and Russia. She was the one who declared early on that Putin was living in another reality, hinting at his being delusional. And her most recent statements keep up the unrelenting personal attacks on the Russian president: a week ago she explained to the press that Putin would not be invited to the G-7 on her watch, because the Russian ‘does not share our values.’

Verbal attacks aside, Merkel has also insisted on tough sanctions against Russia.

By December 2014, dissent in the German ranks found coverage in the press. We read the Open Letter of Germany’s great and good who denounced Merkel’s Ost Politik. We read the harsh critique of the sanctions by Matthias Platzeck, head of the business lobby German-Russian Forum, and former party chief of the SPD (Social Democrats), Merkel’s coalition partners.

Complete story at - Merkel Could Have Brokered Peace in Ukraine. Instead She Fanned the Flames - Russia Insider

The 4th Media » Merkel as Soft Cop in False Flag Offensive on Russia

At the World Economic Forum last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel let the cat out of the bag with her sly offer, or rather bribe, to Russia. The German leader told delegates in Davos that European Union sanctions on Russia would be lifted in exchange for a «peace deal» in Ukraine. She promised a «free trade pact from Lisbon to Vladivostok».

That’s a bit rich coming from the bankrupt EU, but nevertheless let’s accept the assumption that Frau Merkel is offering something very juicy. Why would she do that, and right at this time when civilians are being massacred in eastern Ukraine?

In other words, Merkel is saying if Moscow capitulates to Western objectives of ceding Ukraine to its full political, economic and military control, then Russia will be «paid off» with respite from Western sanctions and can look forward to a tantalising free trade «happy ending» with the EU. How generous of Frau Merkel!

The Russian-speaking population of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas regions will then be abandoned to their fate of accepting the legitimacy of the Western-installed Kiev regime.

The New York Times spelled out the reasoning further in an article at the weekend headlined: ‘War Is Exploding Anew in Ukraine; Rebels Vow More’. The Times reported with dripping innuendo blaming Russia for the violence and quoting its usual NATO and Kiev regime «sources». But take note of this little giveaway nugget in the NYT: «The renewed fighting has… put to rest the notion that Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, would be so staggered by the twin blows of Western sanctions and a collapse in oil prices that he would forsake the separatists in order to foster better relations with the West».

So, the Western calculus revealed by Merkel and the New York Times is that Putin has not been «staggered by the twin blows of sanctions and a collapse in oil prices to forsake the separatists in order to foster better relations with the West».

In this context, Angela Merkel is shamelessly dangling a «free trade bribe» in Russia’s face. Behave yourself, she is saying: just be a good boy, roll over to our geopolitical objectives and we will call off the economic war in the form of sanctions and the crash in oil prices, the latter courtesy of the Western puppets in Saudi Arabia pumping oil into an over-supplied world market.

Talka notes: Even if Putin were to lose his mind and agree to this, the west would never live up to their end of the bargain.  They never do.

Complete story at - The 4th Media » Merkel as Soft Cop in False Flag Offensive on Russia

Vladimir Suchan: Logos politikos: Angela Merkel, the New Dominatrix of Europe, Demands from Putin Proper Behavior over Ukraine

Angela Merkel is more and more assuming a role of dominatrix with respect to Russia. After hosting Yatsenyuk, the "let's-cleanse-the subhumans" prime minister of Ukraine who, on that occasion, vowed to save Germany and Ukraine from a repeat of "Russian aggression" from 1945, Merkel is now openly trying to dictate to Putin and Moscow Russia's actions (or the lack of actions) in Ukraine. She declared that the four-party meeting in Astana over Ukraine will not happen unless Russia properly behaves and makes some decisive concession (carrying out its "obligations" which Moscow took upon itself under the Minsk Deal).

That was the stern message which Merkel delivered as a dominatrix's non-negotiable demand to Putin over the phone on Saturday, January 10.

This demand--to deliver on the would-be capitulation in Minsk--has thus become now an explicit and open demand without further ado by this new dominatrix of Europe. That Russia offer the people of Donbass and antifascist fighters on a platter to the Nazi junta and Merkel's new Germany is now an apparently non-negotiable demand and the EU/West's negotiating position for tomorrow's meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, which will apparently determine if the Astana meeting due on January 15 will be held. Merkel is trying to make it clear that the West and she too is willing to negotiate only Russia's defeat and surrender.

In this regard, Merkel had no problem inviting and embracing Yatsenyuk, who is actually one of the junta's key decision-makers responsible for the Odessa massacre, in which over 100 people were burned alive and hacked and beaten to death by Ukranian Nazi paramilitary battalions with the assistance of the junta's security.

Complete story at - Vladimir Suchan: Logos politikos: Angela Merkel, the New Dominatrix of Europe, Demands from Putin Proper Behavior over Ukraine

Is Germany's Merkel in melt down mode?

Angela Merkel’s hypocrisy now mirrors exactly her American counterpart’s. Speaking of Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, Merkel digressed still further down the murky hole that is western hypocrisy. After just having completed a “put up” photo shoot to capitalize on dead cartoonists, Germany’s top official finally reveals the ultimate audacity.

Six months ago German Chancellor Angela Merkel looked 20 years younger than contemporary western politician Barack Obama. The latter, an American president tagged “worst ever,” he’d have to gain weight to resemble a skeleton about now. Something happened in those six months though, because the Deutsche republic’s leader looks almost as gaunt these days. What manner of decisions must drive these people? It’s a question we probably should, but seldom do ask. If Obama’s karma is making him into Jack Skellington (as below), then Merkel is resembling more and more Bond villain Colonel Rosa Klebb out of From Russia With Love. Whoever is pulling the strings of power in Germany now, he’s twisting the thumb screws on Angela, that’s sure. Maybe those NSA spying stents on Berlin payed off? Who can know?



President Barack Obama at the Pentagon in Arlington, looking so, so worried and drawn. Va., Oct. 8, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

With the G7 about to take place in Bavaria in June, Merkel went on record to sling more mud on the Russian leadership. She told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper yesterday:

“The G7 and former G8 group has always viewed itself as a community of values.”

Really now? Formerly the G8, the economic summit that was supposed to solve for “X” where free world money matters are concerned, it’s failed, failed, failed, and failed some more to stabilize a monetary house of cards that now threatens the world. Sounds dire, doesn’t it? Well, it is. The euro zone is in deep peril, sanctions on Russia over mostly allegations from Washington, the further imperil all the nations of the EU. Ramped up oil production by the Saudis (at the behest of the US State Department) they now threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs and dozens of smaller energy companies.

Complete story at - Is Germany's Merkel in melt down mode?

Russian news: Merkel Digs Own Grave, Doubles Down With Harsh Anti-Russia Rhetoric - Russia Insider

As we reported last week, Angela Merkel has come under fire by her three predecessors – Schroeder, Kohl and Schmidt – over her uncompromising stance towards Russia.

Those wondering how she will react to such criticism did not have to wait for long.

Die Welt am Sonntag has just printed an interview with her under the header: „Angela Merkel blames Moscow for the destabilization of Eastern Europe“.

Those still hoping that her words had somehow, sometimes been equivocated, or even mistranslated, will now have to face facts: Angela Merkel really is a staunch servant of the American empire.

Merkel's words leave no room for dialogue and compromise. She is right, her critics are wrong, and Putin is a evildoer who must pay the price for his actions.

Complete story at - Russian news: Merkel Digs Own Grave, Doubles Down With Harsh Anti-Russia Rhetoric - Russia Insider

War Again in Europe? Not in Our Name! | DeepResource

More than 60 very prominent Germans have signed a document that calls for a new European-Russian detente policy and rejects the (American) idea of confrontation with Russia. Initiated by former chancellor-adviser Horst Teltschik (CDU), former defense secretary Walther Stützle (SPD) and former vice ‘speaker of the house’ Antje Vollmer (Grüne). Prominent signatories:

former government chiefs of Hamburg, Berlin and Brandenburg, Klaus von Dohnanyi, Eberhard Diepgen and Manfred Stolpe, former SPD-chairman Hans-Jochen Vogel, former chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former president Roman Herzog.

[zeit.de] – “Wieder Krieg in Europa? Nicht in unserem Namen!”

Editor: more good news. What we need now is a European Declaration of Independence from the United States, removal of failed chancellor Angela Merkel from power and a joint German-French government declaration that both countries will leave NATO immediately and all the other western institutions and join SCO and BRICS, as well as the formation of a European army. American troops are told to leave Germany, but US nuclear weapons are only returned if the US returns all the gold it holds in its vaults on US soil.

Complete story at - War Again in Europe? Not in Our Name! | DeepResource

Bundestag MP: Merkel is playing with fire at Washington’s behest | Ukraina.ru

At a Bundestag meeting, Deputy Head of the Left Party’s faction Sahra Wagenknecht sharply criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy toward Russia

The MP accused the Chancellor of following instructions from Washington and neglecting national interests.

"Ms. Merkel, there is something that you consider to be more important than the interests of German business: that is the interests of the American government and American business," the MP said.

According to Sahra Wagenknecht, Angela Merkel is responsible for drawing the country into a new edition of "cold war" with Russia. Moreover, she is outraged at Merkel’s cooperation with the Ukrainian regime, in which the police and security service functions are performed by people who are reliably attested as Nazis.

"Instead of dealing with these thugs, we need a foreign policy, for which the security and peace in Europe can be more important than Washington’s instructions. Get back on the path of diplomacy, and cancel the sanctions. Stop playing with fire!" she said.

According to Wagenknecht, Angela Merkel has forsaken the policy of détente and led Europe into a new cold war, because, according to the MP, the Chancellor does not have enough courage to confront the US government.

Complete story at - Bundestag MP: Merkel is playing with fire at Washington’s behest | Ukraina.ru

Alexander Mercouris: Deadlock and Gas Talks in Milan

by Alexander Mercouris

Deadlock in Milan

News from the Milan summit is still trickling through but it is clear that there has been no breakthrough and the Ukrainian crisis remains deadlocked. Poroshenko said that the “parameters” of a gas agreement have been agreed but it seems that nothing of the sort has happened.

The most fatuous comment of the day has come from van Rompuy, who called it “progress” because Putin is supposed to have said that he does not want a frozen conflict in Ukraine or for eastern Ukraine to become another Transdniestria. To see the absurdity of that comment just try to imagine Putin solemnly telling the Europeans the opposite: that he does want a frozen conflict in Ukraine and that he does want eastern Ukraine to become another Transdniestria!

Not for the first time Putin comes over as a man surrounded by dwarfs.

As I understand it the idea of a breakfast meeting between Putin and European leaders came from Merkel. With the German and European economies tanking in part because of the very sanctions policy she has imposed, Merkel needs this crisis to end. At the same time she remains utterly unwilling to take on the US and its European allies or the Atlanticists within Germany. She therefore looks to Putin to extricate her from the mess she has got herself into. However because she is not prepared to face up to the US and its allies or the Atlanticists she wants Putin to get her out of trouble by capitulating to all their demands. She tries to do this by applying “pressure” on Putin (that was what today’s breakfast meeting was all about) and then looks sullenly angry and baffled when it doesn’t work.

Complete story at - Alexander Mercouris: Deadlock and Gas Talks in Milan

Ukraine: how Putin put a stop to a march of folly | OpEdNews

The Ukrainians who suffered greatly under Stalin, are peons on a grand chessboard. When the Soviet Union collapsed and Germany was reunited, it was agreed that Ukraine would be a buffer zone between East and West. But events rarely unfold as predicted.

As per the neoconservatives' diktat, Ukraine must fall into US's hands. The ultimate goal is world supremacy. To this end, Washington must subdue three nations which refuse its rules: Russia, China and Iran. (1) Once these nations surrender, the U.S. will reign supreme over the planet and civil liberties in the Western world will be a thing of the past. Hegemonic powers and democracies don't mesh. Witness NSA surveillance, the whistleblower hunt, Abu Ghraib, etc., and Obama's Executive Order of March 14 th . (2)

Flipping through newspapers and magazine, one is hard pressed to find an article favorable to Vladimir Putin. True, his decision to send troops to Crimea bodes ill for him. He is the aggressor, Russia's new tsar. Hilary Clinton sees Hitler in him, implying his action must be resisted at all cost if the world is to avoid a new Munich. As dryly observed by Henry Kissenger, "demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy". (3) The Ukraine crisis raises many questions. Why was Viktor Yanukovych removed as president? Wasn't he democratically elected? Who killed civilian protesters on Maidan plaza: policemen or neo-Nazi snipers, as revealed by Estonian foreign minister, Urmas Paet, in a telephone call to EU foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton? (4) Why was the agreement negotiated by the foreign affairs ministers of Germany, France and Poland discarded within 24 hours? It is hard not to see the neoconservatives' hands in these developments. Assistant Secretary of State, Vitoria Nuland, boasted of spending $5 billion to foment a revolution. Arseny Yatsenyuk was her choice for interim president. Long before the crisis, the United States installed cruise missiles on the Polish border aimed at Russia on the false pretense they were directed at Iran. NATO's expansion in the Baltic States was perceived as a further threat to Russia's security.

Europeans are part and parcel of this power grab. Germany, most closely linked to Russia historically and economically, agreed to impose sanctions. Angela Merkel who speaks Russian and knows Vladimir Putin well, says the Russian President is "out of touch". While one would not expect her to come to his defense, seeing her siding so closely with the United States comes as a surprise. A more balanced posture would seem to suit Germany's long term interests better. The European stance is all the more surprising that Victoria Nuland's expletive ("F" the Europeans") leaves little doubt in what regard the neoconservatives hold Europe. (5) An explanation of the European attitude may be found in their NATO membership.

Complete story at - Article: Ukraine: how Putin put a stop to a march of folly | OpEdNews