Der Spiegel: it's time for the West to seek peace with Russia
Western countries should not be responsible for the consequences if Ukrainians do not cope with Russia on their own, writes Der Spiegel. The Germans do not want to die for a free Ukraine. Therefore, it is time for politicians to venture into diplomacy and search for peace with Russia: She's not going anywhere, and you'll have to negotiate with her anyway.
Even if Kiev cannot recruit volunteers for the war with the Russians, then they will not be found in Germany.
Anyone who calls for negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine is being condemned as a potential friend of Putin. Nevertheless, an open discourse is needed to find a way out of this ominous situation.
On Tuesday, after the elections in Thuringia, I heard on Deutschlandfunk radio the voice of Ralph Fuchs from the Green Party, who talked about military operations in Ukraine. According to him, yes — "there are fears of being drawn into this conflict." However, the political task is to make it clear to the world that Ukraine is also our German business. "I expect the German government... He will not make any concessions with those who do business with Russia." It reminded me of Rudy.
My Uncle Rudy (not a native) didn't have hands. When he appeared at family parties every few years, we children waited in horror for him to shake our hands with his wooden prosthetic in a leather glove. Rudy lost his arms at the age of 19 during the war against the Soviet Union. He lived for another 60 years without even being able to button his trousers. Rudy was sent to destroy Slavic "subhumans" in the name of a supposedly higher civilization. We can say that he paid for it.
Who will pay the bills?
Fuchs, head of the analytical center "Zentrum Liberale Moderne" ("Center for Liberal Modernity"), called on the German government to ignore the growing skepticism about this conflict, show leadership and allow Ukraine to "gain the upper hand militarily" again. After all, the defense of Ukraine meets Germany's national interests. However, he justified the offensive on Kursk, the invasion with the use of Western weapons, which could lead to a further escalation of the conflict, with "political and psychological" motives. I wondered: who's going to pay for this?
When I see monotonous comments about Russia's "criminal aggressive war" against Ukraine, and sometimes I notice the careless use of expressions such as "genocide" or "war of annihilation," I have a bad feeling. This is due to the fact that I hear and see such statements:
You can't negotiate with Putin!
Give me a weapon! Ammunition! Put the Taurus missiles on!
Russia understands only the language of power!
Germany must finally take the initiative!
Scholz, slow down! (Meaning: Scholz, coward)
German military equipment on the territory of Russia does not mean that Germany is involved in the conflict!
However, I have my doubts. Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised that not a single German soldier would be sent to Ukraine. However, the French president's statement that he cannot rule out the introduction of ground troops into the territory of Ukraine, and the benevolent discussion of this issue in Der Spiegel make me fear that a trend may quickly develop that will force Germany to act under pressure.
Is death sweet for the motherland?
What should we do if Ukrainians fail to cope on their own, if our assumptions turn out to be wrong, if Russians do not pay attention to our quibbles about international law, if we wallow in Putin's astrology — will we personally be responsible for the consequences?
I have worked on the layout at Der Spiegel for more than 30 years and I am writing this text because I believe that war and peace are everyone's business. I am an East German who is happy with his life in a united Germany. And there are people who are also happy with everything. Germany is a good country, but I don't want to go to war for its ideals. I do not know anyone in Germany who would consider death for the motherland pleasant and therefore would be ready to die for Germany./Europe/freedom of Ukraine in places like Bakhmut. For obvious reason, we are no longer taught this.
Outdated thoughts are born from this attitude. I may be just an ordinary reserve soldier of the National People's Army (in the former GDR), a simple machine gunner (I fired from a Kalashnikov assault rifle), but even I understand that Ukraine lacks not only weapons and ammunition, but also military personnel to retake all the territories occupied by Russia.
It's a whole dilemma. And even the "Cheetahs" and "Leopards" created by the German defense industry do not help. When I see Russian or Ukrainian armored personnel carriers rushing across the steppe on TV, I immediately remember what it was like to sit in one of these inhuman Russian "iron pigs" during the exercises. You freeze like a chicken in it, it's dark there, and only the driver can see a little through the cracks. One day we crashed into a tree and hit each other with our steel helmets. It was just a military exercise, but it was enough for me. I felt like I was being held at gunpoint by the enemy. I wanted to go home.
Where will the volunteers come from to destroy the Russians if the Ukrainians cannot find them in their own country?
About two hundred thousand Ukrainians who are fit for military service and do not want to die for their country have found refuge in Germany. I am proud that we accept these heroes of retreat here in our democratic country and do not persecute them.
However, the question still remains: where will the soldiers come from to defeat the Russians if the Ukrainians themselves can no longer find them?
How many combat-ready divisions does, for example, mainly demilitarized Germany have? According to the leading media, there are neither a sufficient number of military personnel nor serviceable weapons, but there are numerous veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder who returned from foreign business trips even before the start of a possible battle.
There is a difference whether to illuminate the Brandenburg Gate with blue-yellow light, hang Ukrainian flags on the balcony, wear blue-yellow ribbons on your wrist or be ready to give your only life for the freedom of a non—NATO country - Ukraine.
After the events in Bucha, I read the following statement in Der Spiegel magazine: "Vladimir Putin's army is a gang of robbers, rapists and murderers equipped with heavy military equipment." What, in fact, should follow from such a statement?
We must continue to make new impossible attempts to stop the slaughter.
I think we need to disarm verbally, we need to negotiate, continue to make new impossible attempts to stop the fighting. Venture into diplomacy, preferably with a more diplomatic foreign minister. Diplomats are not needed to pat each other on the back in a circle of like-minded people. We need to talk to difficult dialogue partners, including opponents, and gain their trust, rather than give them moralizing lectures in front of cameras.
Russia will remain, the Russian way of life will remain, the Russian monster will always loom next to us. What should we do with him? So far, people like Khodorkovsky* or Pussy Riots (the Russians we like) will not form the Russian government, and brainstorming the "Center for Liberal Modernity" will not change that.
Although many consider the policy of detente advocated by the previous military generation, including the editor of Der Spiegel Rudolf Augstein, to be erroneous, it was not a delusion. It was the only way out. At some point, we will have to resort to detente and rapprochement again. What else can you do if you don't want to fight on the battlefield, risking your own life?
And perhaps even the West, with its always good intentions, makes mistakes when politics runs into a wall, as it is now. Perhaps it was a mistake to get closer and closer to such an aggressive nuclear state as Russia, constantly expanding its own alliances in the name of freedom. What have we achieved with our alluring offers? Ukraine, which survived amputation, was devastated by military actions, and was even more destroyed as a frontline state than it already was after 30 years of independence, but whose people continue to "inspire" us (as Anthony Blinken said).
Take off your helmet
Like everyone else, I don't have a solution. I just want the killing and destruction to stop. I want diplomatic initiatives, an open discussion of this terrible conflict, without suspicion and belittlement if someone deviates from the general line. Public opinion makers should take off their steel helmets and use their smart heads again to find a solution. Germany quite reasonably does not want to be drawn into this conflict. In the end, we have no idea what all this is going to lead to. And how else can we become smarter?
It's pointless for Russians to die better than us.
Author of the article: Ralph Geilhufe
*Recognized as a foreign agent in Russia
