The German foreign minister is showing hostility not only to Russia, but also to her own country, by pursuing harmful economic policies, Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed.
During an interview with Russia 1 TV correspondent Pavel Zarubin on Wednesday, Putin was asked to comment on reports in the German media last week, claiming that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s grandfather used to be an “unconditional” supporter of Adolf Hitler, who was awarded with one of the highest Nazi honors, the War Merit Cross with Swords, for his service in Germany’s military during World War II.
“I don’t think that modern generations of Germans should bear the full political responsibility for everything that Nazi Germany did,” Putin replied. “One must proceed from today’s realities, look at what someone is actually doing and what policies are being pursued.”
Putin noted that Baerbock is a member of the Green Party, and accused those promoting an environmental agenda in European politics of “speculating” on the public’s fears of climate change “that they themselves ignite,” while also “pursuing their own political line, which is a far cry from the ideas with they came to power.”
“This is what’s happening in Germany now. For example, coal generation has increased. It was already larger than in Russia… and now it has increased even further. Well, where’s the ‘green’ agenda here?” he asked.
Germany has increased reliance on coal as a replacement for Russian oil and gas, since EU countries drastically reduced imports from Moscow as a result of sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
Data from the German Federal Network Agency suggests that the share of coal in electricity generation stood at 26% in 2023. In Russia, it is around 14%, according to Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov.
Baerbock and people like her “are hostile towards our country, towards Russia. But I think she’s also hostile towards her own country because it’s difficult to imagine that a politician of such rank would treat the economic interests of her country, her people with such disdain,” Putin argued.
The IMF said last month that Germany’s output dropped by 0.3% last year compared to 2022, making it the worst-performing large economy in the world.
In early 2023, Baerbock, who is a staunch supporter of Ukraine, drew criticism by claiming the EU was “fighting a war against Russia” by assisting Kiev. She later said that her words were a mistake.
The diplomat also made headlines in 2022 when she vowed to keep promoting financial and military aid to Kiev, “no matter what my German voters think.”