Steinmeier Defended, Germany Opens Up Against NATO War

An apparent split within Germany’s governing coalition over NATO’s military exercises and BMD deployments threatening Russia, may actually signify a shift in Germany’s population and institutions, realizing that NATO’s escalation is threatening the very survival of Europe.

The German leader who on June 16 called the NATO exercises “saber-rattling,” and “war cries” against Russia, and called for them to stop, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, currently enjoys the most support of any German politician, according to polls. The subsequent attacks on Steinmeier by NATO’s General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg and others were strongly rebutted as “absurd,” Tuesday, by German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who is reported to be going to Moscow himself next week and meeting with Russian President Putin.

Former NATO Military Committee head (2002-2005) General Harald Kujat (retired, former German Armed Forces Chief of Staff) told German NDR radio in an interview Tuesday morning, that he fully supports Foreign Minister Steinmeier. General Kujat’s stand represents deep consensus among German military and strategic experts, not only that the conflict with Russia originated, unnecessarily, in the West; but also, that an escalation will lead to a strategic nuclear showdown. General Kujat said that in crisis periods like this one, military measures always have the effect of escalation. He posed the obvious question: “Does one want to escalate the tensions, or, does one want to help to reduce the tensions?” For the many conflicts in the world, be they Ukraine, Syria, or Libya, “we need Russia … it is a question of reason which way one chooses and I think the foreign minister [steinmeier] wanted to change things.”

Kujat said the criticism of Steinmeier was “a Pavlovian response to the remarks of the Foreign Minister and completely absurd. I think they should carefully listen to what he said. He is proposing the proper approach.”

In Berlin, June 21, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and then warned against the danger fueling tensions between Russia and the European Union.

“We can only solve the problems of Europe and Russia by dialogue,” Sarkozy said. He defined the most serious threat facing Europe as the terrorist groups ISIS and al-Qaeda, both being fought by Russia.