Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko relies on Chancellor Angela Merkel in the conflict with Russia. She was a great friend of Ukraine, Poroshenko said „picture“. „In 2015, she has already saved our country through her negotiations in Minsk, and we hope that she, together with our other allies, will once again support us so much.“
Poroshenko demanded further sanctions against Russia. He also hopes for the support of NATO. „Germany is one of our closest allies and we hope that in NATO now states are ready to relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security.“ Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s aggressive policy is unacceptable. „The only language he understands is the unity of the Western world.“
The Cold War has never stopped
The smoldering conflict over the 2014 annexed by Russia Crimea had escalated on Sunday in the strait of Kerch. Russia with a cargo ship three Ukrainian naval boats denied the entrance to the Sea of Azov. Russian border patrol boats shot at the Ukrainian ships and injured several sailors. Then they confiscated the boats and took them to Kerch.
Putin accused Ukraine of deliberate provocation on Wednesday. Poroshenko staged these to increase his popularity before the election next year. Poroshenko rejected the allegations. „That’s ridiculous,“ said the Ukrainian president „Bild“. For his part, Poroshenko accused Putin of wanting to attack the whole Ukraine. Putin wanted to return the old Russian Empire. „The Crimea, the Donbas, he wants the whole country.“ He regards Ukraine as a colony and hate the idea that Ukraine wants to become part of the EU and part of NATO. „It’s like in 2014: Putin wants to annex another part of Ukraine, he behaves exactly as he did then,“ Poroshenko said.
US President Donald Trump also argued that Merkel mediates in the conflict. The New York Post published a report with excerpts from an interview with the president in which Trump criticized the incident in the Sea of Azov. „We’ll see, we’ll find out what happened. I did not like the incident and we get a report on what happened, „the newspaper quoted the US president. He then added, „Angela, let’s involve Angela!“ Trump also said that he wanted to include France in addition to Merkel – but left open what the two governments should do exactly.
