Oli will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and hold talks with Premier Li Qiang on the four-day trip
asia1 hour ago
Germany’s navy chief stepped down on Saturday after drawing criticism for saying Russian President Vladimir Putin deserved respect and that Kyiv would never win back annexed Crimea from Moscow.
“I have asked Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to relieve me from my duties with immediate effect,” Vice-Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach said in a statement. “The minister has accepted my request.”
Schoenbach made the remarks to a think-tank discussion in India on Friday, and video was published on social media. The comments came at a sensitive time as Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s borders.
Diplomatic efforts are focused on preventing an escalation. Russia denies it is planning to invade Ukraine.
In New Delhi, Schoenbach, speaking in English, said Putin seeks to be treated as an equal by the West.
“What he (Putin) really wants is respect,” Schoenbach said.
“And my God, giving someone respect is low cost, even no cost... It is easy to give him the respect he really demands - and probably also deserves,” Schoenbach said, calling Russia an old and important country.
ALSO READ:
Schoenbach conceded Russia’s actions in Ukraine needed to be addressed. But he added that “the Crimea peninsula is gone, it will never come back, this is a fact,” contradicting the joint Western position that Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 cannot be accepted and must be reversed.
Prior to Schoenbach’s resignation, the defence ministry publicly criticised his remarks, saying they did not reflect Germany’s position in either content or wording.
Schoenbach apologised for his comments.
“My rash remarks in India ... are increasingly putting a strain on my office,” he said. “I consider this step (the resignation) necessary to avert further damage to the German navy, the German forces, and, in particular, the Federal Republic of Germany.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had called on Germany to publicly reject the navy chief’s comments. Schoenbach’s comments could impair Western efforts to de-escalate the situation, Ukraine said in a statement.
“Ukraine is grateful to Germany for the support it has already provided since 2014, as well as for the diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. But Germany’s current statements are disappointing and run counter to that support and effort,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said separately in tweet.
Oli will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and hold talks with Premier Li Qiang on the four-day trip
asia1 hour ago
Rees-Mogg allowed the cameras into his 17th-century country mansion and his central London home for a five-part series broadcast on Discovery from Monday
europe1 hour ago
City, who lost four league games in a row for the first time since 2008, are winless in their last seven matches in all competitions
football1 hour ago
Gregg Wallace has denied making 'inappropriate' sexual jokes and comments after more than a dozen people came forward last week with allegations spanning a 17-year period
world1 hour ago
Jennifer Aaron-Foster says, 'I got inspiration from the people I met in Dubai who came from all over the world'
entertainment1 hour ago
The bilateral meeting with Starmer is scheduled to take place on Wednesday
europe1 hour ago
The Kremlin said on Monday that it had no expectations from Scholz's visit
europe1 hour ago
Presiding Judge Nawaf Salam opened the hearings that will see more than 100 countries and organisations present before the International Court of Justice, the highest number ever
americas1 hour ago