German admiral flies out of the way with Putin’s story and gets on | Abroad

According to the Defense Ministry in Berlin, the admiral’s account is not in line with the government’s position and they may weaken Western efforts to de-escalate the situation. Schönbach was given the opportunity to defend himself against the army command, expressed regret for his “wrong” statements and then decided to keep the credit to himself and resign.

“What he really wants is respect,” Schönbach said of Putin. “And my God, respecting someone is not expensive, even free of charge. It’s easy to give him the respect he wants, and probably deserves.” The video in question appeared on YouTube and made it to the German press.

Thinktank

Schönbach stated that he gave his personal opinion at a think tank discussion in India. The Ukrainian foreign ministry then summoned the German ambassador to Kiev to urge Berlin to reject the reprehensible statements.

These came at a sensitive time as Russia has gathered more than 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border. Western countries fear an invasion and have warned Putin many times about severe repercussions if that happens. The Kremlin denies any plans of attack, but wants NATO troops to withdraw from eastern Europe and a guarantee that Ukraine will never join the alliance.

The now-retired naval chief acknowledged that something must be done about Russia’s actions, but noted that Crimea, annexed in 2014, will never be returned. “That’s a fact.” The West demands that the annexation be undone.

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