Latest news with #BerlinerZeitung
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany will not invite Russia and Belarus to second world war commemoration
The ambassadors of Russia and Belarus will not be invited to the German parliament's commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the second world war's end over concerns they could 'exploit' the event for anti-Ukraine propaganda. The ceremony in the Bundestag lower house on 8 May marking the allies' defeat of Nazi Germany will include several representatives of the diplomatic corps in Berlin but bar the envoys from Moscow and Minsk based on 'the government's assessment on the invitation of representatives', a parliament spokesperson said. 'This assessment led to the ambassadors of the Russian Federation and Belarus, among others, not being invited.' The foreign ministry had previously sent out guidance to local, state and federal bodies to keep Russian and Belarusian representatives off their guest lists for official ceremonies marking the war's end, which the Bundestag described as a 'day of liberation from the National Socialist regime of violence'. The ministry expressed concerns that the envoys could 'exploit the events and maliciously connect them with the war of aggression against Ukraine'. Germany is a staunch supporter of Kyiv in its defence against the Russian invasion and its second biggest supplier of military aid after the US. Related: European defence stocks soar as arms makers expect orders boom The Bundestag official ceremony, its first major commemoration of the war's end since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, will include speeches by the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the chamber's speaker, Julia Klöckner, who said she intends to emphasise the 'war's impact on women and lessons for today'. The spokesperson said the focus of the event in the 'forum of the nation' would be 'on the second world war started in 1939 by the Germans in Germans' name, with its millions of victims' and that no officials based abroad would be invited to attend. The embassies of Russia and Belarus did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But the Russian ambassador, Sergey Nechayev, criticised the foreign ministry's guidance as a 'bitter disappointment', telling the newspaper Berliner Zeitung that the traditional anniversary commemorations were 'part of the path to our reconciliation', which such decisions 'endanger'. The Bundestag's announcement followed a controversy sparked by the attendance on Wednesday by Nechayev at a commemorative anniversary event in the eastern town of Seelow. Organisers ordered a silent ceremony to avoid contentious statements but media images showed Nechayev being warmly greeted by local officials. Related: After 80 years of transatlantic ties, Europe forges a new alliance The Battle of the Seelow Heights, the biggest on German soil during the second world war, led to the deaths of 33,000 soldiers of the Red Army including fighters from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, among others, in addition to 16,000 German troops and 2,000 Polish soldiers. Ukraine's ambassador, Oleksii Makeiev, sharply criticised Nechayev's inclusion in the event as 'inappropriate', calling him 'a representative of a criminal regime that attacks my country every day with missiles, bombs and drones'. Conservative CDU/CSU Friedrich Merz, who is due to be sworn in as chancellor on 6 May, two days before the anniversary, has pledged to uphold Berlin's strong backing for Ukraine. The far-right, pro-Kremlin Alternative für Deutschland party makes up the largest opposition bloc in the new parliament following the 23 February general election. Germany maintains elaborate war memorials to the Red Army's role in defeating Adolf Hitler as part of agreements sealing national reunification after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of communist East Germany. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has frequently drawn on the legacy of the second world war to justify his invasion of Ukraine.
The Guardian
17-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Germany will not invite Russia and Belarus to second world war commemoration
The ambassadors of Russia and Belarus will not be invited to the German parliament's commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the second world war's end over concerns they could 'exploit' the event for anti-Ukraine propaganda. The ceremony in the Bundestag lower house on 8 May marking the allies' defeat of Nazi Germany will include several representatives of the diplomatic corps in Berlin but bar the envoys from Moscow and Minsk based on 'the government's assessment on the invitation of representatives', a parliament spokesperson said. 'This assessment led to the ambassadors of the Russian Federation and Belarus, among others, not being invited.' The foreign ministry had previously sent out guidance to local, state and federal bodies to keep Russian and Belarusian representatives off their guest lists for official ceremonies marking the war's end, which the Bundestag described as a 'day of liberation from the National Socialist regime of violence'. The ministry expressed concerns that the envoys could 'exploit the events and maliciously connect them with the war of aggression against Ukraine'. Germany is a staunch supporter of Kyiv in its defence against the Russian invasion and its second biggest supplier of military aid after the US. The Bundestag official ceremony, its first major commemoration of the war's end since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, will include speeches by the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the chamber's speaker, Julia Klöckner, who said she intends to emphasise the 'war's impact on women and lessons for today'. The spokesperson said the focus of the event in the 'forum of the nation' would be 'on the second world war started in 1939 by the Germans in Germans' name, with its millions of victims' and that no officials based abroad would be invited to attend. The embassies of Russia and Belarus did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But the Russian ambassador, Sergey Nechayev, criticised the foreign ministry's guidance as a 'bitter disappointment', telling the newspaper Berliner Zeitung that the traditional anniversary commemorations were 'part of the path to our reconciliation', which such decisions 'endanger'. The Bundestag's announcement followed a controversy sparked by the attendance on Wednesday by Nechayev at a commemorative anniversary event in the eastern town of Seelow. Organisers ordered a silent ceremony to avoid contentious statements but media images showed Nechayev being warmly greeted by local officials. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion The Battle of the Seelow Heights, the biggest on German soil during the second world war, led to the deaths of 33,000 soldiers of the Red Army including fighters from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, among others, in addition to 16,000 German troops and 2,000 Polish soldiers. Ukraine's ambassador, Oleksii Makeiev, sharply criticised Nechayev's inclusion in the event as 'inappropriate', calling him 'a representative of a criminal regime that attacks my country every day with missiles, bombs and drones'. Conservative CDU/CSU Friedrich Merz, who is due to be sworn in as chancellor on 6 May, two days before the anniversary, has pledged to uphold Berlin's strong backing for Ukraine. The far-right, pro-Kremlin Alternative für Deutschland party makes up the largest opposition bloc in the new parliament following the 23 February general election. Germany maintains elaborate war memorials to the Red Army's role in defeating Adolf Hitler as part of agreements sealing national reunification after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of communist East Germany. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has frequently drawn on the legacy of the second world war to justify his invasion of Ukraine.
Russia Today
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia responds to Germany's WW2 anniversary snub
Germany is following in the footsteps of its Nazi predecessors by allegedly banning Russian and Belarusian delegates from the 80th World War II Victory anniversary celebrations, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. On Friday, Berliner Zeitung reported that the German Foreign Ministry has spread classified memos stating that Moscow and Minsk's delegates will not be invited to this year's commemorations. The confidential document recommended local institutions expel any Russian or Belarusian representatives from the events, according to the East German newspaper. 'The very fact that the ideological heirs and direct descendants of Hitler's executioners will 'expel' Russians from the Victory Day celebrations already looks like a blatant insult,' Zakharova commented on the article in a statement on Saturday. 'However, even here, [German Foreign Minister Annalena] Baerbock and her Einsatz team are not original, but almost verbatim borrow the experience of their predecessors,' she said. Read more German foreign minister's grandfather was 'ardent Nazi' – Bild Nazi Germany's Einsatzgruppen – its paramilitary death squads, responsible for mass murder during World War II – first expelled civilians to ghettos on an ethnic-national basis, later to be doomed to be moved to death camps, she noted. Expelling people from events commemorating this year's Victory Day anniversary based on their nationality 'recreates' these 'inhumane practices,' the spokeswoman said. Last year, Bild reported that the German foreign minister's late grandfather Waldemar Baerbock was an ardent Nazi and decorated officer of the Wehrmacht during the conflict.
Russia Today
16-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Merkel slams ‘Putinversteher' witch hunts
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticized the use of the term 'Putinversteher' (Putin understander) to silence those who discuss Russia's perspective, arguing that it prevents meaningful dialogue and complicates diplomacy. In an interview with Berliner Zeitung on Friday, Merkel was asked how she felt about the term, which is often used to label people who address Russian President Vladimir Putin's concerns over NATO expansion. 'Not good, because there has to be a discussion about it. You have to plan ahead for diplomatic initiatives so that they are available at the right moment,' she said. She also rejected the idea that seeking to understand Moscow's position amounts to supporting it. 'I find the accusation of being a Putinversteher inappropriate. It is used as a conversation-stopper, a way to shut down debate.' Asked if she has ever been called one, Merkel replied: 'No one has ever called me that – it's a strange word. Understanding what Putin does and putting oneself in his position is not wrong. It is a fundamental task of diplomacy and something entirely different from supporting him.' Her remarks come amid an ongoing debate in Germany over its policy toward Russia. The term 'Putinversteher' is frequently used to criticize those who advocate for diplomatic engagement with Moscow, portraying them as sympathetic to the Kremlin. Speaking on European security concerns, Merkel warned that failing to address Russia's interests could increase the risk of future conflicts. 'There is no justification for him [Putin] invading another country, but the discussion about Russia's interests must be allowed.' Merkel was a key mediator in the Minsk agreements, a 2015 road map negotiated along with then-French President Francois Hollande, which was officially intended to reintegrate the Donbass region into Ukraine. However, after the 2022 escalation, both Merkel and Hollande admitted that the accords were never meant to bring peace, but rather to buy time for Kiev to strengthen its military with NATO's help.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former German Chancellor rejects accusations over her constant efforts to "understand Putin"
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made it clear that she fundamentally rejects the derogatory use of the term "Putin-Versteher" (the one who understands Putin) to describe her. Source: Merkel in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung, as reported by European Pravda Details: She rejected criticism of her own decisions as chancellor regarding the war in Ukraine. Merkel said she had very few illusions about Putin. "I recommend putting yourself in my shoes at that time. And I also recommend not to say immediately, when a different perspective emerges today, that you made the wrong decision then. I certainly don't accept that about my decision," she said. When asked how she felt about the term "Putin-Versteher", which is used to describe people who discuss Putin's view on NATO's eastward expansion, Merkel replied: "Not very well". "Understanding what Putin is doing by putting yourself in his shoes is not wrong," she said. "There is no justification for his invasion of another country. But the discourse about Russia's interests should be allowed," Merkel said. In her perception, Putin is very concerned about recognition – "especially from America". This way of thinking stems from the Cold War; for him, the relevant actors are not Germany or the EU, but the truly great power, the United States of America. "They were and are his point of reference," Merkel said. Regarding the meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office, Merkel said she found it very disturbing. "I would have preferred not to have seen this meeting, especially given that the whole of Russia, including President Putin, saw it," she said. Background: In a recent interview with Spiegel, Merkel said that Putin had no intention of attacking Ukraine at the beginning of his presidency and that his plan had evolved over the years, including in response to Western behaviour. She also expressed her indignation at being made a scapegoat for the war in Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
