He said the Kremlin’s foreign policy can be inferred from
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s statements about the collapse of the Soviet
Union. Wadephul made the remarks on air at German broadcaster ntv.
He said Germany, as a NATO ally, would also be directly
drawn into the situation. Wadephul said he believes Russia has plans beyond the
war in Ukraine because, before the 2014 invasion, Russia had good relations
with Ukraine, faced no threat from the country and had favorable trade
agreements, including with Germany.
“So we have to assume that Russia has further plans,” he
said.
Asked what he meant by “further plans,” Wadephul noted that
Putin had previously called the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest
catastrophe of the 20th century.
“If that was the greatest catastrophe, then he probably
wants to correct it,” Wadephul said.
He said the countries potentially included in those plans
are Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and the Baltic states.
“These countries are now members of the European Union and
NATO, so this concerns us, too, as allies,” Wadephul said.
Discussing Germany’s obligations as a NATO member, Wadephul
said Germany would consider itself attacked not only if German territory were
struck but also if, for example, the border of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, or
Lithuania were crossed.
He said, however, that a border violation would first have
to be established through the appropriate procedures.
“But in principle, this is our pledge, and Germany is
honoring that pledge,” the minister said.
Wadephul said Germany is already facing Russian hybrid
attacks. He cited drone incidents in Leipzig and said cyberattacks were
occurring “constantly.”