German media slams Trump's Ukraine plan as new Ribbentrop Pact
The German press continues its sharp criticism of Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Ukraine on Friday. Comparisons are being made to the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and the Treaty of Versailles.
In Europe, we have already had a "peace plan" similar to Trump's proposal, which brought much misfortune to our continent. In 1939, the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was born, dividing Poland – reads a comment published on Friday in the "Münchner Merkur" newspaper.
Currently, Putin and Trump want to do the same with Ukraine – Russia will get the seized lands, the United States will get mineral resources, and Europe will receive millions of new refugees – warns the commentator. In his opinion, a truce without tough security guarantees means postponing the war for only a few years.
"The brutality with which Moscow, under the guise of peace negotiations, bombards Kyiv, testifies to Putin's determination to achieve his goal of erasing a neighbouring democratic country from the map" – writes a journalist from "Münchner Merkur".
"Europe currently needs a coalition of willing parties that would strengthen Ukraine enough for Putin to be forced into genuine negotiations. Germany must take the lead. Unlike the procrastinating Scholz, Merz seems ready to assume this role" – reads the conclusion.
Criticism of Putin and Trump
"With the latest missile attack on Kyiv, the Russian regime has shown its readiness for peace negotiations. Moscow has started the war against Ukraine and wants to continue it until the country attacked is either subordinated or destroyed" – writes Reinhard Veser in "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".
The commentator predicts that Trump and his entourage will blame Ukraine for the impending failure of talks. In his opinion, this is not only the result of Russian propaganda. "Trump and Putin jointly believe in the law of the stronger. If the weaker do not yield to threats and blackmail, they only have themselves to blame when harm befalls them" – writes Veser.
According to the "FAZ" journalist, the EU and Ukraine are in a dangerous situation. Trump has essentially "invited" Putin to test the Europeans' defensive capabilities with provocations and new acts of aggression.
The former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel compared the American proposals to the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War. "Europeans know well how weak and fragile such imposed 'peace treaties' are" – said Gabriel.
In this way, the United States would become "a representative of Russia's interests" – he warned. "All this is merely to enable the Trump administration to shirk responsibility as quickly as possible and 'make a quick getaway'" – criticized the German SPD politician.
