Berlin’s decision on Leopards highly dangerous, casts doubt on normalizing ties — envoy
According to Sergey Nechaev, Berlin’s choice indicates "Germany’s final refusal to acknowledge historical responsibility" for the timeless crimes of Nazism during the Great Patriotic War
BERLIN, January 25. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechaev called Berlin's decision to send tanks to the Kiev regime "highly dangerous," it "takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation," according to a statement published by the Russian Embassy in Berlin on Wednesday.
"Yet again we find out that Germany, much like its nearest allies, is not interested in a diplomatic resolution of the Ukrainian crisis and is bent on its permanent escalation and the unlimited flooding of the Kiev regime with more deadly weapons. ‘Red lines’ are a thing of the past," the envoy said.
According to him, Berlin’s choice indicates "Germany’s final refusal to acknowledge historical responsibility" for the timeless crimes of Nazism during the Great Patriotic War. The diplomat added that the "difficult path of post-war reconciliation between Russians and Germans" is being abandoned.
"With the permission of the German leadership, battle tanks with German crosses will be dispatched again to the ‘Eastern front’ which will inevitably lead to the deaths of not only Russian soldiers but also civilians," the statement quoted the ambassador as saying.
"Berlin made this decision during the days of the 80th anniversary of breaking the siege of Leningrad where hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens died. It destroys the remnants of mutual trust, brings irreparable damage to already poor Russian-German relations and casts doubt on the possibility of their normalization in the foreseeable future," the statement said.
Earlier, the German cabinet of ministers said that it had decided to send 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine. Additionally, Berlin will allow other countries to re-export them.