Vice Admiral Kay Joachim Heino Schönbach, chief of staff of the German Navy from 2021-2022 until his abrupt replacement, after remarks on Russia that were not considered in line with the official narrative, elaborated on the need for a sober view on genuine German interests with respect to the strategic powers, the U.S., Russia, and China. Speaking to the German Eurasia Society on July 3, he said, this would necessarily run into conflict with the dominant Western narratives, but so be it.
Although geopolitics was at the center of Schönbach’s remarks, they were nevertheless interesting, because he endorsed an economic and strategic policy that was driven by Germany’s genuine interest, to defend economic and security cooperation with Russia, based on Germany’s need to import raw materials from Russia and not having Moscow as a military enemy. Schönbach pointed to the U.S. opposition to the Nord Stream pipeline and Victoria Nuland’s role in the Ukraine’s 2014 Nazi Maidan coup d’état, as reflecting U.S. geopolitics, not Germany’s. There was no alternative to Germany’s staying in NATO and in partnership with the U.S., Schönbach asserted, but German politics has to be conducted along the country’s genuine interests—and the same holds for the European Union. He further endorsed having Germany restore its role as a bridge-builder between the West and Russia, including sober assessments of Russia’s interests as well.
