Germany is an obstacle in the way of imposing harsh sanctions on Russia and has been helping the country to become stronger for decades, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said during a press conference on Monday.
The accusation comes in the wake of Kiev’s claims that Russia had committed war crimes against civilian populations in Bucha, a city northwest of Kiev. Morawiecki blasted Russian actions in Ukraine as “pure evil” and said the only morally acceptable course of action for the EU is to impose the toughest possible sanctions on Russia.
“How many times have you negotiated with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin?” the Polish official asked French President Emmanuel Macron rhetorically. “You do not negotiate with criminals, you fight them.”
He said the EU must ramp up anti-Russian sanctions to “break Putin’s war machine,” before calling out Germany for its record of trading with Russia. Berlin has vowed to reduce its dependence on Russian commodities, particularly natural gas, but acknowledged it would take years and would cause serious damage to its economy.
Former chancellor Angela Merkel allowed Russia to build up its army over the years by purchasing raw materials from Russia, the Polish politician said. The current German leadership should listen to the voices of “innocent women and children, the voice of the murdered people” rather than the voices of German businessmen, Morawiecki added.
“Anyone who reads the transcripts [of EU meetings] will know that Germany is the main stumbling block on the way towards very strong sanctions,” he said, when asked about Hungary’s refusal to sanction Russian energy.
“[Hungarian] Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not stop the sanctions. In fact, the main obstacles are the big countries, those who are afraid for their business,” the prime minister said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously used the claims of war crimes in Bucha to blame former leaders of Germany and France – ex-chancellor Merkel and ex-president Nocolas Sracozy – of appeasing Russia.