Jens Plötner, an aide to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has come under fire for his comments about Germany’s relationship with Russia in light of the conflict in Ukraine.
The German newspaper Handelsblatt quoted the official as saying: “Twenty Marder-type armored vehicles are enough to appear in the newspapers, but the number of articles about the future of our relations with Russia is now fewer.”
An adviser to the prime minister spoke about the need for reform in Ukraine, saying that “an attack does not mean that it can be considered a state of law.”
Pletner was criticized for this statement, which he made, commenting on the continued supply of weapons by Germany to Ukraine, as some German politicians considered his position to be pro-Russian.
Norbert Röttgen, a prominent member of the Christian Democratic Union, replied: “This statement indicates that the future of German-Russian relations is an important point for German policy in the context of supporting Ukraine.”
Röttgen felt that the German government was prioritizing relations with Russia over aid to Ukraine, noting that he considered such a policy “wrong”.
In turn, the chairman of the committee of the Bundestag of the Free Democratic Party, Marie-Agnes Struck Zimmermann, said that “this is not the time to express feelings of love for Russia,” and considered that such thinking “has led to such a terrible situation in the last decade.”
Source: “Handelsblatt” + agencies