BERLIN
\nGermany\u2019s 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.
\n\u201cI have asked Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to relieve me from my duties with immediate effect,\u201d Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach said in a statement. \u201cThe minister has accepted my request.\u201d
\nSchoenbach 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\u2019s borders.
\nDiplomatic efforts are focused on preventing an escalation. Russia denies it is planning to invade Ukraine.
\nIn New Delhi, Schoenbach, speaking in English, said Putin seeks to be treated as an equal by the West.
\n\u201cWhat he (Putin) really wants is respect,\u201d Schoenbach said.
\n\u201cAnd 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,\u201d Schoenbach said, calling Russia an old and important country.
\nSchoenbach conceded Russia\u2019s actions in Ukraine needed to be addressed. But he added that \u201cthe Crimea peninsula is gone, it will never come back, this is a fact,\u201d contradicting the joint Western position that Moscow\u2019s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 cannot be accepted and must be reversed.
\nPrior to Schoenbach\u2019s resignation, the defence ministry publicly criticised his remarks, saying they did not reflect Germany\u2019s position in either content or wording.
\nSchoenbach apologised for his comments.
\n\u201cMy rash remarks in India … are increasingly putting a strain on my office,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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.\u201d
\nThe Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had called on Germany to publicly reject the navy chief\u2019s comments. Schoenbach\u2019s comments could impair Western efforts to de-escalate the situation, Ukraine said in a statement.
\n\u201cUkraine 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\u2019s current statements are disappointing and run counter to that support and effort,\u201d Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said separately in tweet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN Germany\u2019s 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. \u201cI have asked Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to relieve me from my duties with immediate effect,\u201d Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach said in a statement. \u201cThe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-240313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n