Ukraine’s defense minister: Appeasement of Russia is a “dogma” that the West lives by

Ukraine's Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, believes that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel prevented the membership of Ukraine and Georgia in the North Atlantic Alliance in 2008, after which Russia carried out aggression against these countries.

As European Pravda reports, Reznikov stated this in an interview published on Sunday with the Spanish newspaper La Razon.

Answering why the West had not given Ukraine all the necessary weapons, the minister said that the West "has long lived by the dogma of not provoking Russia," which was especially noticeable during the Bucharest NATO summit in 2008.

"Then there was a very real possibility that Ukraine and Georgia would become new members of the Alliance. The Americans were in favor, as were most of the Europeans. Only German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed it and convinced others," he recalled.

Reznikov added that after that, there were invasions and occupation of part of Georgia, occupation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as explosions at warehouses in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria and poisoning in Salisbury, "and again the same doctrine: do not provoke Russia."

In the Bundestag, Merkel was called responsible for the war in Ukraine due to the blocking of its entry into NATO.

"The second mistake (of the West – ed.) was that they believed that if there was a military clash, the small Soviet army would oppose a much larger one and be defeated. Well, we are not a Soviet country with a Soviet army," he pointed out.

At the same time, Reznikov stated that he is now "satisfied" with the level of assistance provided by Germany.

"It took much work to convince them to be braver, but we did it. I understand their reasons. After the Nuremberg trials, they became a pacifist country; they changed. This could happen to Russia too if Nuremberg 2 happens and the war criminals are convicted", – the minister of defense noted.

For reference:

At the Bucharest NATO Summit in 2008, Germany and France blocked the provision of an action plan for NATO membership to Ukraine and Georgia, fearing escalation from Russia. Since then, the Alliance has only committed to granting both countries admission "one day."