Berlin, Germany. Back from her visit to Vladimir Putin at Sochi, Angela Merkel tried to explain her erratic policies on Russia in an interview on radio that sounded bad for those wanting peace and worse for those hoping she now has a plan that makes sense to resolve issues, instead of simply having issues.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that NATO must combine a demonstration of power with a readiness for dialogue in relations with Russia, Deutsche Welle reported, leaving many to question a double standard that will end in one or both prongs of her strategy being impractical in German-Russian relations.
The Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine have caused concern among the Baltic countries and Poland, and the situation in Moldova raises questions in Romania and Bulgaria, Merkel said, requiring massive build ups of forces and more defense spending to counter “Russian aggression” that somehow involves Russia not having actually taken any actual steps in any of the NATO states she mentioned.
According to the Federal Chancellor, it was important to these countries that NATO reacts to what is happening and, for example, sends troops to the Baltic countries, even if there is no Russian activity or threat there, Merkel said.
“Germany has always followed very closely so that, on the one hand, it demonstrates its readiness to defend the entire territory of the Alliance, and on the other, does not break off negotiating contact with Russia,” Merkel said.
The Chancellor of Germany said she opposed the fragmentation of NATO’s single responsibility zone, which would make it so that the US and Canada would be responsible for security in America, and only European partners would be responsible for Europe. She stressed that the Alliance should act as a single organization in all of its aspects and missions, but yet again could not explain herself why that should be the case.
US President Donald Trump in election 2016 had said he would end the USA’s membership in NATO and withdraw US forces from combat zones worldwide in efforts to concentrate on “making America great again.”
Angela Merkel denied the view that since 2014 NATO has been once again focusing more on protecting the territory of the member countries of the alliance and, in this regard, recalled the NATO mission in Afghanistan, but acknowledged the NATO contribution in one country can not be equal to a massive build up from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea by NATO.