Criticism from the German press for his insistence not to refer directly to the German-Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2 and its fate, in case of Russian intervention in Ukrainethe Chancellor accepts Olaf Soltsin the aftermath of his visit to Washington.
“Soltz is silent for 15 minutes on the Russian pipeline,” BILD reported, citing an interview with CNN on the US television station CNN, in which he again avoided commenting directly on Nord Stream 2. “Is Germany a credible partner of the West?” not even the White House’s questions to reporters, even that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled a last-minute meeting with German Foreign Minister Alena Berbok in protest of Berlin’s stance.
“Nonsense. “It’s absurd,” Mr Soltz was quoted as saying.
“Together with the United States, we are the biggest supporters of Ukraine. “Since 2014, we have allocated more than two billion dollars, while through the EU another 3.2 billion,” the Chancellor defended. “Why do not you just say that if Russia invades Ukraine, the pipeline will be stopped?” reiterates that “Germany is on the side of its allies and will jointly take the agreed steps.”
Mr. Soltz was particularly upset when the American journalist referred to former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his professional activities as executives of Russian energy companies. “You can ask him. But he is not speaking on behalf of the government. “I work for Germany, I am now the Chancellor and you will hear the political direction of the government from me,” he said in a loud voice.
Commenting on the Chancellor’s visit to the White House, the German media seem to agree that the key issue of the meeting with President Biden was Nord Stream 2. “A crucial point remains,” writes the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, referring to the “pipeline that we are not allowed to name “. “Pressing on eggs for gas pipeline”, writes the RND network, while the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which before the meeting of the two leaders commented that “the silent Chancellor is fighting for his credibility”, today refers to a “strange theater” In Washington and points out that “Soltz leaves Biden in charge of Nord Stream 2 – as if Germany is just a subcontractor”. Der Spiegel magazine avoids metaphorical expressions and directly emphasizes that the Chancellor “also irritated the White House with the issue of Nord Stream 2”.
On the part of the opposition, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) Friedrich Mertz assessed that the German-American relations have “new cracks” after the visit. “Mr. Soltz did not say anything about President Biden’s harsh statement that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would mean the end of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline,” he said, adding that the visit was delayed anyway and that the chancellor was responsible. for the fact that doubts have been raised about the credibility of Berlin.
A different view was expressed by the head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Isinger, who spoke of success. “The chancellor did well in an extremely difficult situation and emphatically reaffirmed the transatlantic relationship, which was very important in the current context,” Mr Isinger told the Funke Group.
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