14-05-2022, 11:32 PM
In 1991, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl wanted to prevent the eastward expansion of NATO and Ukrainian independence, according to newly released files from the archive of the German Foreign Ministry. Was he trying to assuage Moscow?
And already, it seems that the documents may fuel the ongoing debate surrounding Germany’s policies toward the Soviet Union and Russia over the years and up to the present day.
At the heart of Germany’s policy toward Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union – known collectively as "Ostpolitik" – at that time were two giants of Germany’s postwar history: Helmut Kohl, from the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), who served for 16 years as German chancellor; and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, from the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), Kohl’s foreign minister and vice chancellor. Both of them were in their early 60s and had a nose for power.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had been annexed by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1940, with West Germany later never recognizing the annexation. But now that Kohl found himself faced with the three Baltic republics pushing for independence and seeking to leave the Soviet Union, Kohl felt they were on the "wrong path," as he told French President François Mitterrand during a meeting in Paris in early 1991. Kohl, of course, had rapidly moved ahead with Germany’s reunification. But he felt that Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania should be more patient about their freedom – and should wait around another 10 years, the chancellor seemed to think at the time. And even then, Kohl felt the three countries should be neutral ("Finnish status"), and not become members of NATO or the European Community (EC).
https://www.spiegel.de/international/ger...d635d7d664
And already, it seems that the documents may fuel the ongoing debate surrounding Germany’s policies toward the Soviet Union and Russia over the years and up to the present day.
At the heart of Germany’s policy toward Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union – known collectively as "Ostpolitik" – at that time were two giants of Germany’s postwar history: Helmut Kohl, from the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), who served for 16 years as German chancellor; and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, from the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), Kohl’s foreign minister and vice chancellor. Both of them were in their early 60s and had a nose for power.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had been annexed by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1940, with West Germany later never recognizing the annexation. But now that Kohl found himself faced with the three Baltic republics pushing for independence and seeking to leave the Soviet Union, Kohl felt they were on the "wrong path," as he told French President François Mitterrand during a meeting in Paris in early 1991. Kohl, of course, had rapidly moved ahead with Germany’s reunification. But he felt that Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania should be more patient about their freedom – and should wait around another 10 years, the chancellor seemed to think at the time. And even then, Kohl felt the three countries should be neutral ("Finnish status"), and not become members of NATO or the European Community (EC).
https://www.spiegel.de/international/ger...d635d7d664