Merkel distances self from minister’s comment
2 April 2014 4:21 AM IST
But Chancellor Angela Merkel quickly distanced herself from the comments from Schaeuble, a respected elder statesman in her right-left coalition with 16 years of cabinet experience. ‘We know all about that from history,’ Schaeuble told a group of 50 students.
He was referring to the arguments that Russian president Vladimir Putin has used to annex Crimea. ‘Those are the methods that Hitler used to take over the Sudetenland,’ Schaeuble said.
Putin justified sending forces into Crimea by saying he wanted to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine. Even though German leaders rarely made comparisons with the Nazi era, Schaeuble said that it all reminded him of Hitler’s vows to protect ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia.
Merkel, asked at a news conference if she believed the annexation of Crimea could be compared with Sudetenland, said: ‘I regard the case of the annexation of Crimea as a standalone case’ and a violation of international law.
Schaeuble’s comments nevertheless echoed remarks made by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said on 4 March: ‘Now if this all sounds familiar, it’s what Hitler did back in the ‘30s.
Clinton said the next day that she was not making a comparison between Hitler and Putin but rather saying the world today can learn from a tactic that had been used before.
He was referring to the arguments that Russian president Vladimir Putin has used to annex Crimea. ‘Those are the methods that Hitler used to take over the Sudetenland,’ Schaeuble said.
Putin justified sending forces into Crimea by saying he wanted to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine. Even though German leaders rarely made comparisons with the Nazi era, Schaeuble said that it all reminded him of Hitler’s vows to protect ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia.
Merkel, asked at a news conference if she believed the annexation of Crimea could be compared with Sudetenland, said: ‘I regard the case of the annexation of Crimea as a standalone case’ and a violation of international law.
Schaeuble’s comments nevertheless echoed remarks made by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said on 4 March: ‘Now if this all sounds familiar, it’s what Hitler did back in the ‘30s.
Clinton said the next day that she was not making a comparison between Hitler and Putin but rather saying the world today can learn from a tactic that had been used before.
Next Story
