Saxony-Anhalt votes to end arms supplies to Ukraine and lift Russia sanctions
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The parliament of the German
state of Saxony-Anhalt on Oct. 14 adopted a resolution calling for an end to
military and financial aid to Ukraine and the lifting of economic sanctions
against Russia.
The
resolution, titled “Peace Talks Instead of Expanding the War in Ukraine,”
passed with votes from lawmakers from the far-right AfD and far-left BSW
parties. The Christian Democratic Union, Social Democratic Party, Greens, and
Left Party voted against it.
The resolution’s authors said sanctions against Moscow,
weapons deliveries and financial support for Kyiv had failed to produce
results. They argued that supplying additional weapons would only prolong the
war and increase the risk of its expansion.
The state government would be instructed to use the
Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house of parliament, to demand an immediate
cease-fire, negotiations with Russia, the lifting of sanctions and the
restoration of economic ties. In the long term, the resolution says, Ukraine
should become a neutral country.
Saxony-Anhalt Gov. Sven Schulze of the Christian Democratic
Union criticized the initiative. He noted that the resolution did not mention
Russian aggression, even though Russia shells Ukrainian cities daily. Schulze
said the AfD and BSW wanted to deprive Ukraine of the ability to defend itself.
The state government will decide how to proceed after further discussion.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, called the
proposal “the height of absurdity” before the vote. “You are taking weapons
away from the person defending himself — and in doing so, helping the
murderer,” the diplomat told newspapers belonging to the Funke
media group.
The state parliament’s resolution is not binding on
Germany’s federal government, which determines the country’s policy on aid to
Ukraine.
In the Sept. 6 election for the Saxony-Anhalt state
parliament, the AfD won a decisive victory with 43.8% of the vote but failed to
secure a single-party majority.
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