What the German media is saying about the Russia-Georgia conflict
BERLIN — The government and legislature are officially still in their summer break, but both Merkel and Steinmeier have given interviews and are said to be involved in brokering talks. The foreign ministry’s Caucasus representative, Hans-Dieter Lucas, was in Tbilisi these past days as well. Merkel and Steinmeier, in their brief statements, demanded an immediate ceasing of all hostilities.
The German press, radio, and TV have run the Georgia-Russia conflict as front page news since the weekend; the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung devoted four additional pages to it yesterday.
Quotes from German parliamentarians:
• Ruprecht Polenz, chairman of the Bundestag’s foreign policy committee, Christian Democrat: “the Russians have committed clear incursions onto core Georgian territories … the images are reminiscent of Chechnya.”
• Gernot Erler, parliamentary deputy foreign minister, Social Democrat: “Moscow must consider the impact of its actions.”
• Hans-Ulrich Klose, deputy chairman of the foreign policy committee, Social Democrat: “… important not to debate responsibility at this point … all arguments are for the closest possible cooperation with Russia, rather than a standoff … and the most important thing now … is for the Americans to … somewhat restrain their anti-Russian reflexes.”
Germany’s former foreign minister Joschka Fischer, in an Op-Ed for DIE ZEIT’s internet edition, both accuses Russia of “waging war against Georgia” and Georgia of recklessly provoking the Russians in the vain hope of “internationalizing” the situation; the West “can’t support Saakashvili’s policies, but on the other hand it can’t accept Russia’s power politics against its smaller neighbor;” and ends with “only if it is possible to develop the relationship with Russia towards a genuine partnership … based on common principles, will it become possible to perhaps solve these regional conflicts some day.” But until then, suspicions regarding Moscow’s intentions are more than justified, particularly in Europe.”
Two experts, interviewed in DIE ZEIT and Der Spiegel’s internet editions, come to radically opposing views. Klaus Segbers, professor of Eastern European history at the Free University in Berlin, explains in Der Spiegel that, “I have nothing against the Georgians, on the contrary … but nobody can seriously be interested in countries becoming members of NATO which could start a conflict with a nuclear power any week.” Uwe Halbach, Caucasus expert at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, says we are witnessing “Russia punishing Georgia for a series of provocations,” and adds that, “Russia is waging war against a neighboring country…it must be made clear to Russia that its endeavors to present itself as a responsible and indispensable international actor are endangered by these actions”.
Editorials have tended to fall squarely into two camps. Tina Hassel, in the German national TV channel ARD’s late evening news, Tagesthemen, said, “The attempt by the Georgian President, blind to reality and megalomaniac, to solve the conflict militarily and to drag it onto the international stage during the Bush Presidency, has failed miserably. Meanwhile, Russia, the enraged major power, is showing that where its own interests are concerned, it is not much concerned with international law and public sympathies.” Katrin Brand in the regional radio station WDR says “the cautious Europeans were right to be reserved … the EU must use its neutral role to mediate.” On the other side, there is Stefan Kornelius in the daily paper Süddeutsche Zeitung, who writes on Monday that, “Russia provoked this war … Realpolitik requires that the West must at first accept this act of aggression. But it also demands sharper answers to this new Russian revisionism.” The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily points out that it is now up to the West and NATO, who promised NATO membership to Georgia at least in principle, whether and how to support Georgia now. The business daily Handelsblatt adds that the fate of Georgia could become a symbol for the West’s own powerlessness and the failure of its Russia policies; the Financial Times Deutschland, the FT’s German sister paper, adds that Merkel should make it clear to Medvedev, whom she will see in Sochi this Friday, that Russia is the aggressor.
August 14th, 2008 at 8:14 am
It is great when different oppinions are shown and espressed. I like the way Media Words are spread here. As an eyewitness of this conflict and in fact all three wars in the recent 20 years where Russia visiably or invisibly was a very active and provocative part, iI can only confirm that Russia’s Govermnet is not democratic at all their democracy is called KGB and Putin first of all is a KGB brought up guy who just wants to restore the USSR Teritorial integrity first and to drink the blood of all those who is agains this.