What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: German Ambassador to India Walter J Lindner said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a lot of calculating errors in attacking Ukraine.
“President Putin thought NATO would be divided into two blocks,” Lindner, who is set to retire as the German envoy to India, said while addressing the media at his Delhi residence. “Russia thought Ukraine would be weak after the attack.”
With a clear hint at India, without naming her, Lindner has also urged nations for a radical change in their dependency on Russia for energy and all kinds of imports.
While Germany too is dependent on Russia for energy supply, Lindner said that his nation would focus on renewable energy to avoid relying on the Russian energy supply.
While the sanctions on Russia have affected Germany, Lindner insisted that the European nation advocates for stringent sanctions to stop “Putin and future Putins.”
“If you allow aggression to attack another country, assault a country and violate norms, you are trouble makers. So many nations have border disputes, if this attack on other nations is accepted, we don’t know who is next,” Lindner said.
Admitting that historically Germans are very close to Russia, it is important to stop Putin.
“Germans are very close to Russia historically. There are ties between Russians right from culture to music,” Lindner said. “It is necessary to show Putin that it needs to stop. I think everywhere, people are more sensitive and they have seen Russian behaviour. It is a very crucial point that Putin is not winning,” he also said.
Lindner also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership skills and said that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel always admired talking to him. “Former German chancellor Angela Merkel always admired talking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She always asked him how he ran such a big country,” the German envoy said.
Lindner also spoke about the reforms of the United Nations. “I’m a big fan of the UN. The reform of the UN is urgent,” he said.
