Before and after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Zelensky government repeatedly asked NATO to give substantial support such as "allowing Ukraine to join NATO", but the Western countries always "paid lip service but did not come to it." Now, in a hurry, Zelenskiy has pointed the finger at two former German and French leaders.
According to the European version of the US political media "Politician News Network" (politico.eu) reported on April 4, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy slammed some Western leaders in his speech on the 3rd for "contributing to Russia's war crimes in Ukraine", including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Sarkozy.
Zelenskiy named the two men while mentioning the NATO summit they attended in Bucharest, Romania, in 2008. At that time, under the proposal of the United States, the summit could have become an important milestone in the entry of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO, but in the end it was frustrated by the opposition of Germany and France, and even the then US President George W. Bush failed to reverse the situation.
Zelenskiy criticized German and French politicians for fearing Russia and for appeasing Russia by misjudging and plunging Ukraine into the abyss of war for the next 14 years. Merkel, who has since left Germany's prime minister, responded through her spokesman, still insisting that the decision she made at the 2008 NATO summit was correct.
Screenshot of the European edition of the "Politician News Network" report
On April 3, local time, Ukrainian media released a series of pictures and videos of civilian deaths, which allegedly occurred in the city of Bucha in the capital Kiev region, and the Ukrainian government blamed Russian troops for killing these civilians. Since then, the Russian side has denied that the death of civilians in Bucha City is related to Russia.
On the same day, Zelenskiy said in his speech: "I invite Merkel and Sarkozy to visit the city of Bucha to see what has led to a policy of concessions to Russia over the past 14 years. He also said he hoped the leaders would "see first-hand the tormented Ukrainian men and women."
According to reports, in an earlier speech, Zelenskiy mentioned that the UN Security Council will meet on Tuesday (5th) to discuss the so-called Russian "war crimes" and propose a new sanctions plan.
"But I believe it's not enough." Zelenskiy not only blamed Russia this time, but also specifically mentioned Merkel and Sarkozy and others, claiming that their political actions allowed Russia's "evil forces" to enter Ukraine.
The website of the Office of the President of Ukraine publishes the contents of Zelenskiy's April 3 speech
In his speech on the 3rd, Zelenskiy pulled the timeline back to 2008, which is somewhat distant, pointing out that it coincided with the 14th anniversary of NATO's summit in Bucharest, when NATO members discussed whether to approve the Action Plan for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO members (MAP), which will put some countries on the road to joining NATO.
However, despite the statement at the time, "We agree that these countries will become members of NATO," the leaders did not give MAP status to the two countries at the end of the summit. Zelenskiy said reports show that in order to appease Russian President Vladimir Putin, Merkel's Germany and Sarkozy's France were involved in actions to prevent Ukraine and Georgia from joining NATO.
Infographic: Merkel and Sarkozy at the NATO summit in 2008
Speaking about the NATO summit in 2008, Zelenskiy said: "This would have had the opportunity to get Ukraine out of the 'gray zone' of Eastern Europe, out of the 'grey zone' between NATO and Russia, out of the 'grey zone' where Moscow thinks they can do whatever they want, even the most terrible war crimes." ”
He continued: "Behind the optimistic diplomatic statements that Ukraine could become a nato member, what is hidden is that NATO refused to accept Ukraine's accession in 2008, and the absurd fears of Russia by some politicians were also hidden." They believe that rejecting Ukraine would appease Russia, persuade Russia to respect Ukraine, and deal with it normally together. In the 14 years since that misjudgment, Ukraine has experienced a revolution and eight years' war in the Donbass region. Today, we are fighting for the most terrible war in Europe since World War II. ”
It was after saying this that Zelenskiy offered to invite Merkel and Sarkozy to visit the city of Bucha, at which point he said in a tone that he was not blaming the West, and that Ukraine did not blame anyone but Russian troops.
In response to Zelenskiy's remarks, the European version of the "Politician News Network" contacted Sarkozy's office for comments, but there was no response. Merkel, however, responded.
Merkel's spokesman said: "Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is sticking to her decision on the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008. Given the growing pronouncement of 'atrocities' in the Ukrainian city of Bucha and elsewhere, all efforts by the German government and the international community to support Ukraine and end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will be fully supported by the former German Chancellor. ”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, then German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Zelenskiy (from left to right) attend the "Normandy model" four-nation summit in Paris on December 9, 2019.
While the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued, at the end of March, NATO, the Group of Seven (G7) and the European Union held three consecutive summits. In the face of this "three-consecutive summit", Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has also done enough to vow to obtain more "reliable commitments" from NATO and the European Union.
Before the NATO summit, Zelenskiy gave a nightly speech to exaggerate the atmosphere, and he passionately called on people around the world to take to the streets to support Ukraine. Zelenskiy then mentioned three summits at the end of March. "At these three summits, we're going to see who's a friend, who's a partner, who's selling us for money," he said. ”
Video of Zelenskiy's speech posted on the Facebook account of the Ukrainian Embassy in the UK
Zelenskiy also reiterated demands for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to keep Its skies "safe from Russian bombs," adding that Ukraine has not yet received aircraft, modern anti-missile weapons or tanks. To this day, however, the Western countries, led by the United States, have not acceded to Ukraine's demands or made a clear response.
On March 25, local time, Andrei Yermak, director of the office of the President of Ukraine, said in a video call with the Atlantic Council, a US think tank, that he was disappointed with the outcome of the NATO summit. For example, Yermak said Ukraine needed fighter jets and a no-fly zone in Ukrainian airspace, but those demands had been rejected by NATO leaders.
Yermak also said NATO was "just trying to make sure it doesn't provoke a military conflict between Russia and the West" and accused NATO of inaction as "appeasement." He said NATO seemed to want to wait until the Madrid summit in June to take a decision on Ukraine.
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