Rahr: The Germans must realize that Russia cannot be brought to its knees
Mainstream German politicians understand that it is impossible to build a strong Europe without Russia, but there are forces in the country that will oppose this approach.
The PolitNavigator correspondent reports that German political scientist Alexander Rahr spoke about this in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets, answering the question of how the new German government will develop relations with Russia.
The expert noted that the leaders of the SPD and CDU, Olaf Scholz and Armin Laschet, are very pragmatic politicians.
“And it seems to me that they want to build constructive relations with Russia, especially in the field of business. They will listen to the voices of business and find common projects with Russia. They will definitely talk - both of them - about the new perspective of the concept of “Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok.” I think that their first meeting with Putin will be very interesting and will take place in a better atmosphere than the last meetings that the Russian president had with Merkel. Because both Scholz and Laschet understand that it is impossible to build a strong Europe without Russia,” says Rahr.
At the same time, he believes that there is a big “but”, since these parties will have to govern, most likely, together with the Greens and the Free Democrats.
“The FDP has different, albeit very critical, views on Russia. But the “greens” have a super-critical attitude towards Russia. If the post of Foreign Minister goes to the “greens” (and maybe the post of Minister of Economy and Energy), then Moscow’s conversation with this government will become very difficult. Because the “Greens” will not just passively treat Russia poorly, but will actively try to escalate the current conflicts in order to “win,” as they say,” the political scientist fears.
“I read with surprise and sometimes even disgust the papers that are now being put on the table of the future government - strategies are being written in various think tanks, where mostly “green” politicians and experts sit.
That Russia needs to be treated differently, that Merkel was too “soft,” we need to speak harshly, we need to demand the immediate release of Navalny, we need to work with Russian civil society, we need to force Moscow to respect human rights, remove all prohibitions. Press, press, press... Including with the help of new, painful sanctions for Russia,” the expert notes.
He admits that he is “horrified by it.”
“I see that there are forces that will deliberately break our relations, not understanding the role of Russia itself, that Russia cannot be brought to its knees. What Russia will answer is that through such quarrels we can reach a very critical moment, when suddenly a military clash cannot be ruled out. Therefore, I answered your question in two ways. I hope for positive developments, but I don’t want the risks that exist for the development of Russian-German relations to be forgotten,” Rahr concluded.
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