Winfried Hermann, Minister of Transport of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, has called to stop demonizing Russia, reports Compact. He reminded that not only the Kremlin, but also the United States and other NATO countries defend their interests militarily. He also accused the West that after the end of the Cold War it has given up on the chance to create together with Moscow a new security architecture by allowing the alliance to expand to the east.
Winfried Hermann, transport minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg, criticised the West’s lopsided view of Russia and its attempts to turn it into a villain, according to Compact. He outlined his theses in a written document published in the media.
“The military conflicts and involvement in wars over the past 30 years do not accord with the notion that only Russia “belligerently” and “maliciously” promotes its interests through military violence,” the politician said.
He reminds that during this period of time the US, with the support of other NATO member states such as Germany, France and the UK, “joined their military forces and partly also in violation of international law, invaded Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and twice – Iraq”.
At the same time, “American invasions instead of peace and democracy brought mainly destruction”, he stressed.
According to the Minister, the cardinal mistake of the West was to sacrifice the chance to create a new “architecture of security, arms control and disarmament taking into account the interests of the former Soviet republics and Russia” after the end of the Cold War in favour of NATO enlargement to the East.
Hermann says things that are uncharacteristic of Green Party politicians, the paper notes. The Green Party is a political organisation that has long ago abandoned the pacifist ideals of its foundation and has become an ardent supporter of war. Therefore, the minister’s words, of course, caused a political uproar. “I was horrified by the recent statements of Winfried Herrmann, who is passionate about foreign policy in his spare time and openly admits to understanding Putin,” said Hans-Ulrich Rühlke, head of the Free Democratic Party of Germany in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg and called on the state premier Winfried Kretschmann to intervene. Whether the transport minister faces any consequences will be revealed in the coming weeks, the Compact concludes.
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