>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?
Most likely yes.
It’s no surprise that Chancellor Birne saw his chance to glory and knew how to prepare it so he could take a proper golden shower in it.
We all knew what he was capable of.
> In 1991, the Soviet Union was still in existence, though many of the nationalities that formed the union had begun standing up to Moscow. Kohl, though, felt that a dissolution of the Soviet Union would be a “catastrophe” and anyone pushing for such a result was an “ass.” In consequence, he repeatedly sought to drum up momentum in the West against independence for Ukraine and the Baltic states.
Oh boy
>eastward expansion of NATO
NATO doesn’t expand, countries join it once they have applied and been allowed to join. Only Russia expands because Russia is not civilized enough to stay in its own borders.
Politician of the past were brilliant thinker. I’m not surprised at all.
We should be grateful for their work and consequently for the living standards we enjoy.
Today leadership is full of children being too afraid to point out things as they are. They are too worried about the emotional response of the pubblic.
Politics is the terrain on wich is built the future of a country (sometimes a whole continent like in this case), not a tool to gain popularity.
> 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).
Damn. Now it makes more sense what our former president Ilves said about there being huge pushback in the west about Estonia wanting to join NATO and the EU.
This was directly after German reunification, when we still had six Soviet armies with about 338k troops in the country. In the 2+4 treaty, the German army and airforce was limited to 345k.
Of course the German government was very careful not to step on the Soviet’s toes at the time. The August coup of 1991 shows how volatile the situation was, and a repetition of that is exactly what they wanted to avoid.
>In 1991, Kohl even felt it was possible that the poisonous form of nationalism that appeared in Eastern Europe following World War I could make a reappearance. He believed that if the Baltic countries were to become independent, “the clash with Poland will start (anew).”
The nerve on this guy!
Kohl being a massive hypocrite is not exactly breaking news.
The German political elite as a whole has a huge Russia problem.
10 comments
>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?
Most likely yes.
It’s no surprise that Chancellor Birne saw his chance to glory and knew how to prepare it so he could take a proper golden shower in it.
We all knew what he was capable of.
> In 1991, the Soviet Union was still in existence, though many of the nationalities that formed the union had begun standing up to Moscow. Kohl, though, felt that a dissolution of the Soviet Union would be a “catastrophe” and anyone pushing for such a result was an “ass.” In consequence, he repeatedly sought to drum up momentum in the West against independence for Ukraine and the Baltic states.
Oh boy
>eastward expansion of NATO
NATO doesn’t expand, countries join it once they have applied and been allowed to join. Only Russia expands because Russia is not civilized enough to stay in its own borders.
Politician of the past were brilliant thinker. I’m not surprised at all.
We should be grateful for their work and consequently for the living standards we enjoy.
Today leadership is full of children being too afraid to point out things as they are. They are too worried about the emotional response of the pubblic.
Politics is the terrain on wich is built the future of a country (sometimes a whole continent like in this case), not a tool to gain popularity.
> 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).
Damn. Now it makes more sense what our former president Ilves said about there being huge pushback in the west about Estonia wanting to join NATO and the EU.
This was directly after German reunification, when we still had six Soviet armies with about 338k troops in the country. In the 2+4 treaty, the German army and airforce was limited to 345k.
Of course the German government was very careful not to step on the Soviet’s toes at the time. The August coup of 1991 shows how volatile the situation was, and a repetition of that is exactly what they wanted to avoid.
>In 1991, Kohl even felt it was possible that the poisonous form of nationalism that appeared in Eastern Europe following World War I could make a reappearance. He believed that if the Baltic countries were to become independent, “the clash with Poland will start (anew).”
The nerve on this guy!
Kohl being a massive hypocrite is not exactly breaking news.
The German political elite as a whole has a huge Russia problem.