The German ambassador to Colombia, Peter Ptassek, spoke with EL TIEMPO about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ptassek assured that the world reached “a historical turning point”.
(Read here: Russia bombs several cities and reinforces troops in Kiev)
(Due to the public interest that the events between Russia and Ukraine arouse, all our coverage of that invasion and related actions will have free access for all readers of EL TIEMPO)
What are the reasons for Germany to change its defense policy by increasing its weapons budget?
This change that is affecting German politics is a universal change. It seems to me that we have reached a historic turning point. Perhaps we did not realize the changes that occurred in Russia during the past 20 years under the rule of Vladimir Putin. Somehow it seems to me that the image of Russia survived the Soviet Union that dissolved in 1991, two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and for some this image continued to be positive. This invasion has nothing to do with any partisan agenda. It is an act of naked imperialism, a violation of international law and that is why we had to review the north of our policy and this Government is committed to exporting fewer weapons and above all not exporting weapons to nations in conflict.
Is Europe getting ready for a full-scale war?
What happened in Europe is a war of aggression, the invasion of a sovereign country. That needs the strongest answer. If we adapt after some measures taken in our approach more investment in defense, 100,000 million euros more this year alone, we are going to accelerate the energy change, dependence on gas from Russia must be reduced, and these are just a few measures that show what The current situation in Europe is so serious, the threat that we all feel in the European Union. It is a situation that did not occur for many decades and therefore warrants special measures.
How do you see the siege of the West to suffocate Russia?
The most important thing now is to end this war and contain this war so that it does not spread to other countries and that is why we are on the side of Ukraine, of the people of Ukraine. But also, we are not against the people of Russia, because we are convinced that this war is the war of the president and the oligarchs who are on his side. That is why everything must be done to stop this invasion. We know that sanctions cannot be achieved overnight, but these sanctions will have a medium and long-term effect on the Russian economy, but above all the lost confidence could not be established at once. There will be long-term changes in the policies of all European countries brought about by this aggression. An interesting consequence is NATO, it has never been so attractive for all the countries that feel threatened by Russia. This will have an effect and we will see how soon it will be felt.
(In other news: Russia-Ukraine: weapons that are prohibited in a war)
Will Germany remain open for migrants and refugees?
On the subject of refugees from Ukraine there is a great consensus in the German population, in politics as well, that these people who are fleeing from Ukraine to neighboring countries must be welcomed. One of the most affected countries will be Polinia, we are on the side of Poland, and our chancellor, Minister of Foreign Affairs (Annalena Baerbock), said clearly “We are going to welcome all the refugees who arrive”. At the moment, UNHCR is talking about 360,000 people, but there will be much more if this conflict continues in Ukraine.
Did Russia force a change of logic in Europe?
Among many other things, the energy change. Dependence on the gas that comes to us from Russia is politically a great risk and ecologically it also has its disadvantages. Therefore, Germany is going to focus more on renewable energies that can be produced in the country itself. This is good news for Colombia and other countries that are in the same situation. The production of green hydrogen in the coming years will be a main and primary source of the energy that Germany will need. We are already in this process with the Colombian body. Colombia has a roadmap for the development of this clean and green energy and this is just one example of many that we are going to do. Yes, there will be costs. This change has a price, but this price is the price of freedom. We cannot continue to depend on a regime that, for the moment, scares us all.
Stephany Echavarria N.
INTERNATIONAL EDITOR
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