German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock was at the center of a loud scandal: opposition representatives reproached her for neglecting the opinion of German voters in favor of Ukraine, calling for her to resign. The German Foreign Ministry said that the minister’s criticized quote was deliberately taken out of context by “pro-Russian accounts” in order to misinform. “Kommersant” understood what Annalena Burbock said and what words from her speech were not included in the video promoted on the network, and also spoke with those who created this video.
Annalena Burbock made the sensational statement on Wednesday at a public event in Prague, where the foreign ministers of all EU member states gathered. During the discussion, which Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba was also invited to participate in, she urged everyone to be prepared for the fact that the hostilities in Ukraine will drag on. And this, according to Annalena Burbock, means that Western countries will need to help Ukraine “as much as it takes,” including by maintaining sanctions pressure on Russia, although this sometimes hurts the very initiators of the restrictions.
Then the diplomat uttered a passage for which she was subsequently criticized:
“If I promised the people of Ukraine that “we will be with you as long as you need,” I want to keep this promise. No matter what my German voters think, I want to keep my promise to the people of Ukraine.”
It is with these phrases that the 54-second video begins, which quickly became one of the most popular on Wednesday in the German-speaking segment of social networks.
Annalena Burbock reiterates the importance of keeping her promises to Ukraine, after which her speech is cut off, and then another passage follows: “Winter is coming soon, and we democratic politicians will be challenged. People will take to the streets and say, “We can’t pay for energy.” To which I will answer: “Yes, I know, that’s why we provide you with social support.” But I don’t want to say, “Okay, then we’ll end the sanctions against Russia.” We will support Ukraine, and this means that the sanctions will continue into the winter, even if the politicians get really hard.”
Judging by the comments on social networks, many of those who watched this video saw in the speech of Annalena Burbock (representing the Green Party in the coalition government) disregard for the opinion of German voters. The hashtag #BaerbockRuecktritt (#BaerbockResignation) began to spread virally on Twitter, becoming the most popular in Germany (according to trends24.in), to which politicians from the opposition parties readily responded.
Alice Weidel, co-chair of the far-right Alternative for Germany, tweeted that “Foreign Minister Burbock’s resignation is long overdue.” “Those who clearly spit on the interests of the German voters have no place in the ministerial post. We need a diplomatic foreign minister who will defend the interests of German citizens and advocate for negotiations and peace between Russia and Ukraine,” she said.
Member of the Bundestag, former head of the parliamentary faction of the party “Left” Sarah Wagenknecht considered that “the foreign minister, who claims that he represents the interests not of German voters, but of Ukrainian voters, and who rejects negotiations to end the war in the interests of the US government, is not only flagrant mistake, but also a threat to our country.” “A foreign minister who rejects diplomacy and shows contempt for anyone who protests the consequences of her insane sanctions with the words “Ukraine is above everything and citizens are indifferent” is a complete failure!” — added on Twitter another representative of the “Left” Sevim Dagdelen.
Even the Christian Democrats, who generally support the current government’s foreign policy, have been noted. Thus, the representative of the Christian Democratic Union Norbert Röttgen, commenting on the scandal, said that voters need to be persuaded, not put before ultimatums.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also considered it necessary to assess his colleague’s speech. “I read statements by German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock on August 31 that German citizens are already suffering, but they will have to come to terms with this, since Germany will support Ukraine, no matter what. A fantastic confession, just “in the vein” of talk about the need to hold early elections in a number of European countries,” he said on September 1 at a meeting with MGIMO students.
The German Foreign Ministry, however, considered that the scandal around Annalena Burbock’s quote was artificially inflated, moreover, by pro-Russian forces.
“Classic: a cut video promoted by pro-Russian accounts, and a cyber-fast food is ready – ready-made disinformation. Will we allow ourselves to be divided so easily? I don’t think so,” Peter Ptassek, a diplomat in charge of strategic communications, tweeted on Thursday.
On Friday, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christopher Burger commented on this topic at a briefing in Berlin. According to him, the phrase about unconditional support for Ukraine was taken out of context and acquired a different meaning than Annalena Burbock put into it.
“Kommersant” got acquainted with the full version of her speech (2 minutes 12 seconds) and came to the conclusion that the short version did not include two quotes about the importance of mitigating the negative consequences of anti-Russian sanctions (primarily rising energy prices) for citizens of Germany and the entire European Union . “We have to find good solutions across Europe to balance the social impact,” she stresses. And he adds: “The other strategy of this war, hybrid war, is to split our democracies by saying, ‘Now the poor people will suffer.’ And we must answer: “No, we are in solidarity with everyone in our country, just as we are in solidarity with everyone in Ukraine.” If voters do not agree with this approach, then, according to Annalena Burbock, in a democracy they, “fortunately”, have the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with this or that politician in the next election.
A short version of Annalena Burbock’s speech first appeared on the RussiaUSA Telegram channel, which has about 6.5 thousand subscribers, and in the Twitter account of the same name with 7.5 thousand subscribers. These English-language resources position themselves as sources of “news and different views on the crisis between the West and Russia.” They were created by The American Council for US-Russia Engagement, registered in Seattle. The organization is headed by media consultant Vladimir Rodzianko and Sergey Gladysh, who also previously served as secretary of the Coordinating Council of Organizations of Russian Compatriots (KSORS) in the United States.
“Kommersant” contacted the editors of RussiaUSA via Telegram, asking them to comment on the video and the claims of the German authorities. “If you watch our channel, you will see a lot of excerpts from interviews and speeches by different people on topics related to relations between the West and Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, which has become an important point of confrontation,” one of the channel’s editors, who did not give his name, replied. The passage you refer to was published because it highlights the determination shown by the German leadership in supporting Ukraine despite growing disapproval and economic difficulties at home (FRG.— “uh”) caused by sanctions against Russia”.
According to Kommersant’s interlocutor, RussiaUSA did not expect their video to go viral. “And we did not have any hostile intentions towards the German Foreign Minister when we published it,” the channel’s editor assured. “We do not agree with accusations of “disinformation.” (A short.- “uh”) the video contains Ms. Burbock’s direct speech; nothing has been added or changed. The full version of her speech does not deny or contradict anything said in the published passage.