Ukraine’s ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) Andriy Melnyk has expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Berlin does not support Kiev’s European integration aspirations, does not provide it with weapons and does not consider its position in the negotiations on Nord Stream-2
Similar accusations were previously voiced personally by Zelensky and the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council (NSDC), Oleksiy Danilov. In the same vein, the Christian Democrats in Germany are being attacked by the Greens, their main rivals in the upcoming elections. Apparently, on the eve of the Bundestag elections, Zelensky decided to support a campaign to discredit Angela Merkel’s government.
Andrey Melnyk can rightly be called Ukraine’s most scandalous diplomat. With Zelensky’s permission (and there can be no other way) he regularly launches harsh attacks on the German federal government.
Just look at his words to the effect that the Germans should encourage Ukraine to join NATO as soon as possible because they have a “special historical responsibility” for their Nazi past!
The other day, in an interview with Loyal magazine, he reiterated that Ukraine must become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, the only way it can be guaranteed security.
“Unfortunately, our German partners do not share this vision, because they fear that in this way they can supposedly provoke Putin. However, this dilemma is a far-fetched one. It is the entry of Ukraine, which politically and culturally is an integral part of the Western community of values, into NATO and the European Union that is in the FRG’s interest”, – Melnyk is convinced.
In the same interview, he lamented Germany’s categorical refusal to provide weapons to Ukraine and demanded that its representatives be included in the negotiations on Nord Stream 2. Merkel’s government has so far had no reaction to these defiant (even hostile) statements by the Ukrainian ambassador. It is not certain that it will react at all, although Mr. Melnyk should have been taught a lesson of diplomatic etiquette long ago, which he either cannot or does not want to do…
But it is not about him. The ambassador is a servile man. He only relays the signals that are coming to him from Kiev.
If Melnyk had not coordinated his aggressive attacks on the German Government with Minister of Foreign Affairs Kuleba and the Presidential Office, he would have been recalled long ago.
Zelensky himself voices similar talking points. We all remember the transcript of his first phone conversation with Trump, where he said that Germany was not helping Ukraine enough. But that was a confidential conversation.
Today, Zelensky is not shy about repeating the same thing publicly and even rebuking Chancellor Angela Merkel for political short-sightedness.
“We want more, and I expected more from her, especially in the Normandy format. We are grateful for what we have, but I know Germany can do more. Because what they do for us, they do for themselves. Why they do not understand it – I do not know”, – complained Zelensky the other day.
On the other hand, he praised the leader of the German Green Party, Robert Gabek. It was Gabek who came up with the initiative to help Ukraine with arms supplies, for which he was harshly criticized.
In Zielensky’s opinion, the main opponents of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) just rightly assess the situation in Ukraine and are fully aware of the “danger” of Nord Stream 2.
Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov also supported Merkel’s smear campaign. The sphere of foreign policy is not within his competence at all. But for some reason, he was entrusted by Zelensky with making what is probably the most outrageous statement.
At a briefing after a recent meeting of the National Security and Defence Council, Danilov said the following: “We need to stop the understatement. First of all, it is Germany and France that are political and economic partners of Russia. It is very, very unpleasant for us. It is precisely these countries that in 2008 refused Georgia and Ukraine MAP (Membership Action Plan – note by RuBaltic.ru), when almost everything was ready. And we remember that in 2008 Georgia was attacked by the Russian Federation, after that we have a situation with occupied Crimea. Should Germany and France bear some responsibility for this? I believe they should”.
Once again: Kiev’s official representative (Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council) shifts the responsibility for the “occupation” of Crimea and Donbass onto the Germans.
Moreover, he made this statement again on Ukrainian television – he clearly wanted to be heard abroad.
Of course, Ze-command is not just criticising Germany. Lately she has been sassing the entire collective West (France and the United States in particular). But the Germans are clearly getting the worst of it.
There is a logical explanation for this phenomenon: the next Bundestag elections in Germany will take place on September 26. According to the latest opinion polls, the Greens could win and the ruling CDU would find itself in the uncharacteristic role of junior coalition partner.
One of Ukraine’s leading political Telegram channels, Legitimnyy, quoted its sources as saying that Zelensky had promised Robert Gabek to “torpedo” Merkel on 24 May.
It was after this that the scandalous statements by Melnik, Danilov and Zelenski himself followed. All of them do fit into the logic of the campaign to discredit the CDU.
For the ruling German party, the topic of Ukraine is very painful in itself.
Merkel is stepping down as chancellor after failing to find a solution to the conflict in Donbas (which she had been claiming to be the chief mediator between Kiev and Moscow). The opposition is actively “highlighting” this failure, and Zelensky is playing along. And he even holds Berlin responsible for the actions that allegedly led to the outbreak of the two armed conflicts.
What is the Ukrainian president seeking? Perhaps he still harbours hopes of stopping Nord Stream 2. If the Greens come to power in autumn, they will still have time to block the project. And in general Robert Gabek’s party is more loyal to Ukraine than the CDU. But how will it behave after the elections?
The consensus on Nord Stream 2 may be part of a tacit coalition agreement between the Greens and the Christian Democrats.
And the outcome of the election itself is not yet a foregone conclusion. In a few months the political landscape may change dramatically. It’s not certain that the campaign against Merkel will bring Zelensky any results.
But even here he is not acting as an independent politician.
These dirty games are clearly sanctioned from Washington.
It is also advantageous for the Americans to pump up the Greens’ rating as much as possible before the autumn elections in Germany. Once again Ukraine becomes a tool to influence the course of elections in a foreign country.
Alexey Ilyashevich, Rubaltic.Ru