HEIDELBERG (dpa-AFX) – “Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung” on Gabriel / Ukraine:
“Because of all the “war-likeness”, weapons discussions and threat scenarios, the question is increasingly pushed into the background: Was the war in Ukraine avoidable? And: Can there be a diplomatic way out? The former foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel makes an unusual contribution to the debate on television. In his opinion it would have Angela Merkel prevented the war. Some Eastern European countries prevented them from doing so. A daring thesis that cannot be verified. But in his role as a political pensioner, Gabriel proves to be a strategically thinking person who pushes aside the enemy images and looks for solutions. (..) Nobody knows what a possible peace in Ukraine could look like. And the mantra that you can’t negotiate with Putin leads to further hardening, which could result in a war with Russia. Talking always helps. Not speaking leads to war.”/DP/jha