NEWTIMES

Baku, 8 July 2016 – Newtimes.az

During her statement at the NATO summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held Moscow responsible for the crisis of confidence. In an exclusive interview with Sputnik, OSCE Vice President Willy Wimmer said such an aggressive tone against Russia is totally inappropriate, taking into account the 75th anniversary of the Nazi Germany invasion.

According to Wimmer, the events which brought terror, misery and distress to Europe many years ago, are now taking place again because of NATO.

"When we see the situation in Ukraine and the developments in Crimea, we must soberly say that the West, NATO and the European Union have gambled and lost the game and Ukraine pays a heavy price for it. You can't then blame Russia," Wimmer said.

During the ongoing NATO summit in Warsaw, German Chancellor Angela Merkel blamed Moscow for the crisis of confidence between Russia and the West.

Russia's actions have "deeply disturbed" NATO members in Eastern Europe which therefore need the protection of the alliance, Merkel said, referring to the planned deployment of troops in Eastern European.

However, Wimmer found the statement "outrageous."

"Poland and the Baltic countries are trying to put Germany and the German people against Russia, a move which is being opposed by both," Wimmer said. "This is an attempt to build a new wall across Europe in coordination with the American policy, this time from the Baltics to the Black Sea, in order to isolate Russia," he added.

Earlier NATO announced its plans to send "four robust multinational battalions" to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. Each is expected to comprise 800-1,000 soldiers. Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States have agreed to create three of the four battalions.

Additional steps that the North Atlantic Alliance is working on deal with the free movement of NATO forces across Europe and improved cyber defense. The bloc has already overcome some bureaucratic hurdles and revised procedures that help to move troops faster.

"Our country must find the way back to the Charter of Paris […]. Leaders of Europe, Canada and the United States have promised to make Europe a territory of peace, international law, human rights and positive cooperation. And what has become of it? Exactly the opposite. We are again standing at the borders of a country which lost 27 million of its countrymen 75 years ago. This can't be repeated often enough. We must again become reasonable," Wimmer concluded.

Sputnik