Leftist German MP endorses new approach to Crimean dispute

Sahra Wagenknecht, a Bundestag MP and deputy
chairperson of The Left party, said she endorses a new approach to relations
with Russia in an interview with a German publication released on August 8. She
endorsed the position of Christian Lindner, the chair of the Free Democratic
Party, who called for Western leaders to “vacuum-seal” the conflict over Crimea
in order to gain progress with Moscow on other diplomatic fronts in an
interview published on Aug. 5.

Lindner, who is not an MP, acknowledged that the
Crimean annexation violates international law but the conflict is in a
“long-term temporary state.” He rejected the Western position that sanctions be
removed only with the full implementation of the Minsk Accords, stating that
“positive intermediate successes also need to be appreciated.”

Zenon Zawada: Every few
months, a new Western politician – almost always from the far Left or far Right
– comes out of the closet to propose a new approach to peace with Russian
president Putin. But they have yet to influence the firm position of the
globalist establishment, as demonstrated with the election of U.S. President
Trump. Although he actively campaigned for renewing relations with Russia, even
suggesting relaxed sanctions, Trump instead signed last week legislation that
restricts his ability to alter sanctions in any way. He completely abandoned
his foreign policy proposals towards Russia.

It’s impressive that Lindner called for finding a
solution to the conflict over Ukraine that would enable Putin to change his
policies “without losing face.” That has been our position for several years now as Putin needs to be able to exit Donbas and
Crimea without appearing before his own people as though he has lost against
the West. This will require some creative diplomatic approaches not yet
attempted, and a “vacuum seal” on the Crimean question would be a step in the
right direction. Putin simply can’t afford to surrender Crimea or Donbas and
the West needs to recognize this, in the interest of avoiding escalated
warfare.