Die Linke leader: Scholz fails to see big picture regarding Ukraine

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Feb 16:09
1 Shares

Die Linke leader Dietmar Bartsch says efforts must be put to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Dietmar Bartsch holds the slogan of a three-day party congress of Germany's left-wing party Die Linke "The Left - fights for the Human Rights" in Bonn, Germany, February 22, 2019. (Reuters)

Leader of the hard-left parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, Dietmar Bartsch of Die Linke, criticized those who insisted that the Ukrainian conflict must end on the battlefield, as he argued that in doing so, they failed to see the big picture.

"Those who just claim that Ukraine must win do not understand the complexity of the situation," Bartsch told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung during Saturday's interview.

Bartsch's main argument was that "Russia will not be forced to its knees by weapon supplies" and that it was "unfortunate" that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had quit his attempt to resolve the disagreement in a sensible way.

"We are even talking about fighter jets," which made Germany's involvement in the conflict "hardly about diplomacy," the leader noted.

"This is extremely dangerous," Bartsch continued and exclaimed, "Who says that the people of Ukraine want more weapons? Most Ukrainians want only for the war to end so that they could live in peace."

Bartsch then stated that all efforts must be directed toward reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine. In this regard, the leader also criticized NATO allies for having framed the supply of battle tanks to Ukraine as a game changer.

Macron, Scholz anticipate prolonged conflict in Ukraine, vow readiness

This comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in an address at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Friday, considered that weapons supplied to Kiev contribute to ending the war sooner and the withdrawal of "Russia's conquering troops."

“It is not the weapons we are supplying that are prolonging the war. The opposite is true,” he said, adding that the sooner Russian President Vladimir Putin realizes “that he will not achieve his imperialist goal, the greater the chances are of the war ending in the near future, and of Russia’s conquering troops withdrawing."

"I think it's wise to prepare for a long war," Scholz said in his speech.

Responding to a question as to whether Germany found itself in a position to convince countries to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, Scholz wondered as to why countries that pushed Berlin earlier to allow the export of the tanks have not yet pursued their promise, noting that Germany can make the decision easier for them, hinting that it can't take it for them.

“That’s a question I have to ask to others, especially those who were so much urging [me] to act,” he replied, stressing that “all those who can supply main battle tanks should really do so."

“Germany can do what it can to make this decision easier for our partners — say by training Ukrainian soldiers here in Germany or providing support in terms of replenishing supplies and logistics.”

Regarding his earlier promise to raise the country's military spending, the German Chancellor said, “Germany will permanently raise its defense expenditure to two per cent of gross domestic product,” he said.

On his part, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius considered that military spending should exceed 2% of the GDP, noting that the circumstances are now different.

"What is new is that all this is taking place while a war is being waged on European soil by Russia against Ukraine," Pistorius said ahead of the conference.