German MP: NATO responsible for Ukraine crisis

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Alice Weidel, co-leader of the German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), described the current tense situation surrounding Ukraine as "a failure of the West," saying that the West failed to assure Kiev's neutrality at an early stage.

On Sunday, the lawmaker added that her party hopes that measures are taken "to put Ukraine and all other surrounding countries on a neutral status and not continuously pushing the frontiers of NATO's eastward expansion," as she spoke in the German parliament.

Weidel emphasized, "the problem was Ukraine, the problem of the lack of neutrality status, and that was slept through."

Weidel believes that keeping Ukraine's commitment to neutrality would have relieved Russia about its security worries. Weidel recalled how Moscow has been openly articulating the issue for the past 20 years. She went on to say that the US, for example, would not accept any hostile force in its backyard.

The MP continued that this "insult" to Russia's great status, was a failure for the west, particularly in their rigid protecting of the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO whilst arrogantly denying Russia's great power status.

She added that teasing Ukraine with promises that could not be fulfilled was "a total mistake."

"Thus, we lured Ukraine into this situation and this dangerous test," Weidel said.

NATO, particularly Germany and France, should have interfered sooner, according to the politician. Furthermore, the current crisis sets in action political processes "that we may no longer be able to control afterwards."

"In its current state, Germany has nothing to offer to follow the words with days," Weidel said. "Sanctions that harm their own citizens more than those they target cannot end the war. They are ultimately alibi politics - like illuminating the Brandenburg Gate in the Ukrainian national colors."

The European Union had agreed Friday to freeze European assets linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Moscow's operation in Donbass.

The European decision was accompanied by a wave of sanctions from the US, Europe, and other Western allies.

Ukrainian MP: Criminal Zelensky refused dialogue with Russia

Ukrainian MP Ilya Kiva blamed the Ukrainian President for the current situation on his Telegram channel on Sunday.

The MP criticized Zelensky's administration for “doing everything to make the evacuation of Kievans impossible," adding that "thousands of guns" being distributed to Ukrainians without background checks was a blunder.

"It was practically a license for murder," he claimed, alluding to several reports and videos suggesting that many citizens in Kiev had already been victims of "banditry," and that the shootout heard in the Ukrainian capital was purportedly sparked by local disputes.

On Sunday, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent to Crimea reported that "the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the government in Ukraine has lost its legitimacy."