Latest news with #RoderichKiesewetter
Russia Today
4 days ago
- General
- Russia Today
Germany should expel all Russian diplomats
A senior German lawmaker has called on Berlin to effectively cut diplomatic ties with Moscow to combat the 'hybrid' threats he claims come from Russia. 'We should expel any remaining… diplomats,' Roderich Kiesewetter, known for his hardline anti-Russian stance, told Handelsblatt on Tuesday. He argued that doing so would help reduce Moscow's influence in Germany. According to Kiesewetter, Germany is currently 'inadequately protected against cyberattacks,' which he claims 'primarily' originate from Russia. He specifically accused Moscow of attempting to 'change public opinion in Germany' through such actions. He also accused China, North Korea, and Iran of launching 'hacking attacks.' The list of countermeasures suggested by the MP includes establishing a special government agency to refute disinformation or combat it 'through hybrid activities,' banning Russian tourists and journalists from entering Germany, shutting down 'propaganda portals,' and deleting any social media accounts deemed suspicious by the authorities. The lawmaker also called for the closure of the Russian House – a center in Berlin run by the Russian government agency Rossotrudnichestvo that holds cultural events and offers language courses – labeling it a network of Russian 'influence.' Moscow has warned that the expulsion of diplomats would be met with a tit-for-tat response. 'Berlin must have been missing the German diplomats,' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Rossotrudnichestvo blasted Kiesewetter's words as 'absurd.' They 'have nothing to do with reality,' the agency's spokesman said, adding that the MP 'knows nothing about the activities of the Russian House in Berlin and has never been there.' The head of the Russian House also told TASS that such rhetoric 'does not foster international dialogue' and only 'strengthens the atmosphere of distrust, incites hatred and animosity.' Last year, Kiesewetter caused a stir in Germany by stating that Berlin should 'take the war to Russia' and 'do everything possible to enable Ukraine to destroy… ministries, command posts' on Russian territory. He is also an active supporter of supplying Kiev with Taurus missiles, which have a range of 500km and could reach Moscow. The interview comes as Berlin has taken an even more hardline position on Russia under new Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Since taking office, Merz has lifted range restrictions on Ukrainian strikes with German-supplied missiles and hinted at the possibility of sending Taurus missiles to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in response that Berlin's 'direct involvement in the war is now obvious.'
Al Arabiya
15-05-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
‘Paradigm shift': Germany says to meet Trump's NATO spending target
Germany under new Chancellor Friedrich Merz surprised NATO allies on Thursday by signaling plans to massively boost defense spending to five percent of GDP as demanded by US President Donald Trump. The pledge, made by the foreign minister at NATO talks in Turkey, came a day after conservative Merz, in office for just over a week, said his government planned to build up 'the strongest conventional army in Europe.' Security expert Roderich Kiesewetter of Merz's conservative CDU party called the move a 'paradigm shift', speaking to Bild daily, adding that 'it won't happen overnight, but it has to happen.' For now those goals sound highly ambitious, given the dire state of the German armed forces which, defense experts warn, have been plagued by shortages of key weapons systems and faced trouble recruiting new troops. Germany, with its dark World War II history, has long been reluctant to spend big on defense. Funding dropped off sharply after the Cold War as European countries relied on NATO heavyweight the United States for security. Decades of lower military spending since the Berlin Wall fell, the so-called 'peace dividend', has reduced Germany's number of battle tanks and howitzers from the thousands to the hundreds. In recent years, Germany's Bundeswehr, as it deployed in Afghanistan and Mali, was often mocked for equipment failures, including helicopters that couldn't fly and rifles that did not shoot straight. The army, hoping to boost its troop strength to 203,000 by 2031, has struggled to find new recruits despite a social media advertising blitz, falling short last year by over 20,000. The military still has 'too little of everything' -- from air defenses and drones to satellites and AI capabilities -- the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, Eva Hoegl, warned in March.
