1 year ago
27
By Andreas Rinke
BERLIN (Reuters) -Russia's penetration of Ukraine has caused an "epochal break" successful Germany's ties with Moscow and the warfare has shattered erstwhile Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's imagination of a "common European home", President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said connected Friday.
Steinmeier, who hails from a helping of Germany's Social Democrats that agelong argued for person economical ties to Moscow, said Russia's penetration of Ukraine had brought a alteration successful era.
"When we look astatine the Russia of today, determination is nary country for aged dreams," Steinmeier said successful the prepared substance of a nationalist address. "Our countries are lasting against each different today."
"It has besides plunged america successful Germany into different time, into an insecurity we thought we had overcome: a clip marked by war, unit and flight, by concerns astir the enlargement of warfare into a wildfire successful Europe," helium said.
Steinmeier made a astonishment sojourn to Kyiv connected Tuesday, erstwhile helium promised further enactment to Ukraine, particularly successful the country of aerial defence. The sojourn was his archetypal since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Steinmeier had primitively planned to sojourn Ukraine successful April but Kyiv refused to invited him past amid disquiet implicit his past enactment for a Western rapprochement with Russia. Kyiv and Berlin aboriginal patched up their disagreement.
Steinmeier, whose relation arsenic caput of authorities is mostly ceremonial, said successful his code that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally liable for the turmoil successful Europe, and helium decried his "imperial obsession". Putin successful crook has accused the West of inciting the war.
"Harder years, unsmooth years are coming," helium said.
(Reporting by Andreas RinkeWriting by Paul Carrel; editing by Matthias Williams and Angus MacSwan)
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