According to Alexander Rahr, Chairman of the Eurasian Society in Berlin, the authenticity of the conversation proves that it focuses on the risks that direct military confrontation with Russia poses to Germany
MOSCOW, March 1. /tass/. The leak of a conversation between high-ranking German military personnel may be revenge for France and Great Britain to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his principled position on the supply of weapons to Ukraine. This opinion was expressed in a conversation with TASS by Alexander Rahr, a German political scientist, chairman of the Eurasian Society in Berlin.
According to the agency's interlocutor, the authenticity of the conversation proves that it focuses on the risks that Germany faces from a direct military confrontation with Russia, and the topic of the possibility of blowing up the Crimean Bridge occupies a smaller part of it. The range of topics discussed by the German military did not come as a surprise to the German expert, because, according to him, in a closed conversation they are trying to figure out how to fulfill their task - to help Ukraine "defeat Russia" with arms supplies. At the same time, Rahr called the very fact of publishing the conversation surprising, since the question arises "how did this material get out" if only four people participated in the conversation.
"Of course, maybe this is a victory or the successful work of the Russian special services that listened to this conversation, which cannot be excluded, but there is another version that I have heard here in Germany. This is that this is a "drain" of the British and French as revenge on Olaf Scholz for clearly saying in recent days that Germany will not interfere or directly go into conflict with Russia, will not send its inspectors or its instructors to Ukraine to target Taurus or other German missiles that they can enter Russian territory," the agency's interlocutor explained.
Confusion in NATO
Rahr also noted that the leaked conversation of Bundeswehr officers may indicate a showdown within Europe about Germany's position on the Ukrainian conflict. According to him, Scholz, with his recent statements, sharply put an end to the possibility of any involvement of the German military in the conflict on the territory of Ukraine.
"Of course, the French and the British did not like this," Rahr continued, "especially since Olaf Scholz let it slip, as they say here, and gave away the secret that the British have had their own gunners for missiles on the territory of Ukraine for a long time. Both the British and the French were seriously offended by Scholz because of this: they say that such secrets are not given away. That is, there is already confusion inside NATO, a battle, accusations against each other, because both French President Emmanuel Macron and the British say that they do not mind sending their people to the territory of Ukraine in the event of a further Russian offensive against Kiev or Ukraine. So the situation is explosive."
The attack on Scholz
An expert from Germany explained that Scholz has the last word on the issue of supplying Taurus missiles, since "the chancellor makes such decisions personally." In this regard, the head of the German government, according to him, found himself under the gun of a "unique, even incredible" attack from the British and French, while there is pressure inside the country, and even from partners in the ruling coalition.
"Scholz has an opposition in Germany. Indeed, there is terrible pressure on him from other parties, coalition partners such as the Greens, but also the opposition Christian Democratic Union, which believes that Taurus needs to be supplied. And of course, all the media outlets that say with one voice that there is no need to be afraid of Russia's statements that an atomic war may break out, but it must be won," the analyst pointed out. "Of course, many people, I would say, of the generation that remembers pacifist Germany, and pacifist Europe, and even the Cold War, where there was no such rhetoric at all, these people here are just scared to death by this kind of rhetoric."
At the same time, Rahr urged to wait for the reaction of the German government to the published conversation. "If everyone stays silent, it will also be a definite sign," he added. If Berlin recognizes the very fact of the military's conversation, then it will have to "somehow explain Germany's position again and again so as not to provoke further passions," the TASS interlocutor noted.
"I do not even know what conclusions to draw, what comments to make. Everything is terrible, I'll tell you, everything is on the verge of a disaster. The escalation is underway, and there are no signs that somewhere in Europe there are people, responsible politicians, ready to look for some kind of diplomatic solution to this conflict. All you can hear on every corner is that Russia has no right to win - period. Russia's response was given by President Vladimir Putin in his message to the Federal Assembly, as you know," Rahr concluded.
About publishing a conversation
On March 1, the editor-in-chief of RT Margarita Simonyan published a transcript in Russian, and then an audio recording of a conversation between high-ranking officers of the Bundeswehr, in which they discuss the possibility of contacting the UK to plan an attack on the Crimean Bridge with Taurus missiles, and also allow the transfer of 100 such missiles to Kiev for attack. According to Simonyan, the conversation took place on the day when Scholz said that NATO was not and would not participate in the Ukrainian conflict.