Hinweise deutscher Aussenpolitiker bringen das Bild des weitsichtigen Strategen im Kanzleramt ins Wanken. Die Entscheidung des Regierungschefs, Leopard 2 in die Ukraine zu schicken, scheint vielmehr hektisch und ohne Abstimmung mit den Koalitionspartnern erfolgt zu sein.
Exactly. As Xi said to Scholz, political trust, once broken, is very hard to regain. Merkel’s open admission that Minsk II was a ploy to buy the Ukrainians time basically obviated the chance of any rapprochement over Ukraine. If somebody in Berlin or Washington had reprimanded her, or issued an official denial – "this woman doesn’t represent current German or NATO leadership, and her version of events is not accurate " – the situation could maybe have been salvaged. But people either echoed her, or said nothing, and Russia now knows the west is absolutely not to be trusted.
Exactly. As Xi said to Scholz, political trust, once broken, is very hard to regain. Merkel’s open admission that Minsk II was a ploy to buy the Ukrainians time basically obviated the chance of any rapprochement over Ukraine. If somebody in Berlin or Washington had reprimanded her, or issued an official denial – "this woman doesn’t represent current German or NATO leadership, and her version of events is not accurate " – the situation could maybe have been salvaged. But people either echoed her, or said nothing, and Russia now knows the west is absolutely not to be trusted.