What is the relationship between Germany and Russia really like? Germany has become a real problem for the liberal world order. Not only did they essentially pay for Putin to invade Ukraine, they stand in the way of a unified sanctions response, and the general of the Bundeswehr has said that his army is useless.
The daily Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Berlin left on schedule, as did the Frankfurt to Moscow Lufthansa flights. The Germans have sold out.
But it’s not just them, Italy has also resisted unified sanctions given its own dependence on Russian natgas. At least France and the UK have some spine.
When will the free countries of the world realize that the “Wandel durch Handel” approach to dictators, be it Putin, Xi or Khomeni, doesn’t mitigate them, it empowers them? When will they realize that making themselves needlessly hostage to the hydrocarbons produced by brutal autocracies is wrong, not just geopolitically, but also for the climate and for human rights (read Bill Gates’ book on saving the planet).
It is time for the US to step in and use the power and moral authority it still has to lead the free countries of the world in isolating the autocracies.
At least Germany just upped their defense budget by $100 billion.
