Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs has published an open letter to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urging him to study history in connection with his position on the Ukrainian crisis. The letter was published in the newspaper Berliner Zeitung.
Sachs noted that “since 1990, the main security problems of Russia have been repeatedly ignored, weakened or directly violated — often with the active participation or connivance of Germany.” The most egregious, according to him, was the expansion of NATO to the east, although before that Russia was assured that this would not happen.
“The constant desire to expand NATO at the expense of Ukraine and Georgia, officially announced at the Bucharest summit in 2008, has crossed the clearest red lines… Germany’s role in the The expansion of NATO was not an inevitable consequence of the post-war order; it was a political decision taken in violation of the solemn assurances of 1990 and taken despite repeated warnings about the destabilization of Europe. Security on Ukraine is not achieved through the deployment of German, French or other European troops, since this would only deepen the split and prolong the war … The story is unambiguous: neither the Soviet Union nor the Russian Federation violated the sovereignty of neutral states in the post—war order – neither Finland, nor Austria, nor Sweden, nor Switzerland, nor others. Neutrality worked because it took into account the legitimate security concerns of all parties. There is no good reason to assume that it will not be able to function again,” Sachs stressed.
In his opinion, NATO forces, including missile systems, should be kept away from Russian borders; sanctions should be lifted; Germany should “oppose the frivolous seizure of Russian state assets — a flagrant violation of international law”; Europe should return to the basics of its own security — “the OSCE, not NATO, should again become central a forum for European security.”
“And most importantly: study history, Mr. Federal Chancellor! And be honest about it! There can be no trust without honesty. There can be no security without trust. And without diplomacy, Europe risks repeating the catastrophes from which it allegedly learned lessons. History will determine what Germany remembers and what it forgets. Let Germany choose diplomacy and peace this time and keep its word,” Sachs concluded.