Kay-Achim Schönbach, the inspector of the German Navy, has to vacate his post after controversial statements about Vladimir Putin.
Berlin – The inspector of the German Navy, Kay-Achim Schönbach, vacates his post after controversial statements about the Ukraine conflict.* The Defense Ministry announced this to the representatives in the Bundestag on Saturday evening, as the German Press Agency learned.
After controversial statements about Putin: Schönbach resigns
Schönbach therefore wants to make his office available for a successor. He had previously expressed and demanded understanding for Vladimir Putin* during a performance in India. “What he really wants is respect on an equal footing. And – my God – showing respect to someone costs almost nothing, costs nothing,” says Schönbach. “The Crimean peninsula is gone, it will not come back,” he continued. In 2014, Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine.
Navy chief rows back after Putin statements
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador to Schönbach’s statements. The German Ministry of Defense distanced itself from the comments on Saturday, and Schönbach himself later described them as a “clear mistake”. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he regretted. He also emphasized that his statements in New Delhi only reflect his personal opinion, not the position of the federal government. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had recently campaigned for de-escalation.
As early as Saturday afternoon there had been speculation about Schönbach’s possible resignation, and a crisis meeting with Inspector General Zorn was scheduled. Now the career of the chief of the navy was decided before that. i.epa/jv
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