In connection with the Russian President Vladimir Putins visit in Berlin last week, MEP Udo Voigt handed over a personal statement to the Russian ambassador Vladimir Mikhaylovich Grinin. Udo Voigt, who also is a member of APF distant himself from the policies of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and expressed that he will continue to work against the sanktions of both Russia and Syria.
You can find the letter in full here:
The Honourable Mr. Vladimir Mikhaylovich Grinin
Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the Federal Republic of Germany
Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Federal Republic of Germany
Under the Linden 63-65
10117 Berlin, Germany
Dear Honorable Ambassador,
On the occasion of today’s visit of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir V. Putin, in Berlin, and against the backdrop of the persistent policy of sanctions by Western countries against Russia, I am encouraged to make the following statement in my capacity as a member of the European Parliament.
As an elected German deputy, I very strongly disagree with policy of escalation and sanctions of the German federal government, which is largely the responsibility of the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, and is maintained against growing resistance in our country. I strongly reject the Chancellor’s policy and criticize it as harmful and dangerous.
Being the holder of a political mandate given by the German electorate, I would like to point out to His Excellency and the Russian people that the Chancellor’s policy of sanctions and escalation is NOT the will of the German people. According to regular surveys, a majority of the German people want peaceful and constructive relations with the Russian people. As the German Chancellor makes herself an enforcement body of transatlantic demands, she sabotages peace in Europe and bears responsibility for the growing danger of war on our continent.
Like any responsible citizen of our country, I am aware that it is not Russia, but Western and transatlantic circles under the leadership of the United States of America who have deliberately not only harmed the good neighborly relations between Western Europe – especially Germany – and Russia. The have deliberately escalated conflict regions and promoted the confrontation with Russia. The ominous role of the US and influential Western organizations in the ‘regime change’ in Ukraine in 2014, and the ongoing conflict in the Donbass, remain undeniable. Equally undisputed is the fatal role of the US in the Syrian conflict that has lasted since 2011, while the courageous and successful engagement of Russia has opened a serious perspective to peace for the country, which has been shaken by war and terror.
Within the framework of two diplomatic missions, I was able to see for myself in 2015 and 2016 the situation in Syria, which is widely misrepresented by Western policy and the Western media.
The world public has also noted that it was the US that ended the recent peace talks on Syria at the beginning of October. The world public also registers with concern that the US government and secret service circles are increasingly discussing an open military action against the Russian and Syrian armed forces. Every responsible politician must, in the interest of peace, distance himself from this policy of saber-rattling.
Your excellency,
Be assured: The German Chancellor, who has only recently expressed herself at European level for further and tougher sanctions against Russia, is not doing so in the interest of Germany, but as a representative of a country which has not yet recovered its international sovereignty. A growing number of Germans are facing the anti-Russian policy of the federal German government with concern and rejection.
As a member of the European Parliament, I will personally continue to work hard to de-escalate the situation and improve the relations between Germany and Russia.
Yours sincerely,
Udo Voigt
Member of the European Parliament, MEP
