As shown by the decision of the French President and the German Chancellor to send heavier weapons such as tanks to Ukraine, the Franco-German leadership team is deeply embedded in the NATO confrontation against Russia. It does not correspond to the growing sentiment in the French and German populations that the war and arms supplies should stop to make room for peace talks, as well as for restoring the dialogue with Russia. The Dec. 26, 2022 interview of Pierre de Gaulle, a grandson of former French President Charles de Gaulle—who at the peak of dissent with the Anglo-Americans, quit NATO in 1966 and maintained a policy of respect towards the Soviet Union—is of significance in this constellation.
German Linke party founder and gray eminence Oskar Lafontaine writes today in the NachDenkSeiten website: “In France, Pierre de Gaulle, grandson of Charles de Gaulle, bank manager and business consultant, has spoken out in an astonishing interview: ‘Public opinion is beginning to become aware of the perverse game and lies of the Americans and NATO in particular. The Ukraine crisis is being used to destabilize Europe. The war triggers are the Americans and NATO, and I would like to cite as evidence the statements of Mrs. Merkel, who said that she never intended to implement the Minsk agreements, which were signed to ensure the safety of the Russian-speaking population in the Donbass ... Mrs. Merkel has done everything to allow NATO to arm Ukraine, has done everything to lay the groundwork for this conflict. By allowing this Ukrainian nationalist expansion, she has allowed 16,000 to 18,000 people to be bombed and killed.’
Lafontaine continues: “Charles de Gaulle’s grandson correctly states with regard to the antecedents of the Russian invasion, that the Americans and NATO were the triggers of the war. A statement that in Germany would immediately lead to the accusation of being a Putin-Versteher [Putin cothinker] and exclusion from political dialogue. Much more important, however, is de Gaulle’s accusation of Angela Merkel for allowing 16,000 to 18,000 people to be killed in the Donbass. This dubious role of Merkel, which emerges from her interview published by Die Zeit on Dec. 7, is being discussed worldwide and prompted Putin to ask whether anyone in the West can still be trusted and reach agreements.
“Why is Merkel silent on this?
“Indeed, Germany’s share of responsibility for the lack of implementation of the Minsk agreement is undeniable. And it is another reason why the German government must abandon its U.S.-affiliated policy and push for an immediate cease-fire and peace negotiations. All the more so because the European Court of Auditors’ September 2021 report also urgently calls for a change in the German government’s Ukraine policy: ‘Experts estimate that enormous sums—on the order of tens of billions of dollars—are lost annually in Ukraine due to corruption.’ In addition, there are mounting reports that some of the weapons delivered to Ukraine do not reach the army, but are hawked on the black markets of arms dealers.
“In an interview with Radio Munich, I explained the urgently needed change in German Ukraine policy with the aim of an immediate stop to arms deliveries, a ceasefire and a negotiated solution.” (https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=92164 )