Scott Ritter

Germany’s Policies Can Only Lead to War with Russia

This is the edited transcript of the presentation by Scott Ritter to Panel 1, “Stopping the Doomsday Clock—The Common Good of the One Humanity,” of the Schiller Institute’s Nov. 22 conference, “For World Peace—Stop the Danger of Nuclear War: Third Seminar of Political and Social Leaders of the World.”

Mr. Ritter is a former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer. He served in the former Soviet Union, implementing arms control treaties. He is also a former United Nations weapons inspector.

Before Mr. Ritter spoke, panel moderator Stephan Ossenkopp directed the audience to an interview that Ritter gave on Nov. 18 to a German media platform, Gegenpol. In English with German subtitles, the interview is titled, “German Politics on Course for Destruction.” In it, Ritter does not mince words about the German economy and the danger of war. Ossenkopp urged everyone to watch this interview, as it is exactly the wake-up call needed not only by Germany, but for all nations.

The full proceedings of the conference are available at the Schiller Institute website.

Thank you very much for asking me to speak. It’s a privilege.

We’ll just start off talking about Germany and the current situation as it involves the recent missile attack against Polish territory. If you listen to the German government, they’ve said, “We have not overreacted; we aren’t looking for a conflict with Russia. We’re seeking to avoid an escalation of tensions between Russia and NATO. The last thing we want is a NATO-Russia conflict.”

I have to say, that this is absurd in the extreme, when you take a look at what Germany has done. Yes, Germany did not invoke or at least support, the invocation of NATO Article 4, [which would involve] a gathering by NATO in response to this attack, rightfully noting that this wasn’t a Russian attack on Poland, but what they call an “errant Ukrainian missile.”

But they continue to blame Russia. They say that this war would not have happened, if it weren’t for Russia invading Ukraine to begin with—as if Germany didn’t play a role in setting up the conditions that led to the Russian decision to invade; as if Germany wasn’t part of what was called the “Normandy Format”—Germany and France, who together with Ukraine negotiated the Minsk 2 Accords, which were supposed to find a diplomatic off-ramp from conflict, if only Ukraine would have implemented these accords.

What did Germany do from 2015 to 2022, to see that these accords were implemented? It appears that Germany was actually working with Ukraine to prevent the implementation of these accords. That’s according to former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who said that the Minsk Accords was a sham. That all it was designed to do was to buy time, so that the Ukrainian military could be trained by NATO, to be able—through use of force—to resolve the Donbass question.

The Donbass question, of course, being Lugansk, Donetsk, and what their status would be. The Minsk Accords were supposed to keep them as part of Ukraine, respect the territorial integrity, but provide some sort of political autonomy for the ethnic Russian population of that territory, so that they could speak their language, embrace their religion, and pursue their culture without fear of prosecution or persecution.

Where was Germany, while the Ukrainians were using the Minsk Accords as a shield? Germany was training Ukrainian troops. So, Germany apparently knew exactly what it was doing.

Now, we take a look at today, now that the conflict has started.

It’s not a conflict that Russia started. NATO started it, expanding their border up to Ukraine. Where was Germany in every discussion about NATO expansion? Where was Germany when they were saying—everybody knew that to try and strip Ukraine away from the Russian sphere of influence—that this could lead to a Russian military action. Germany can’t claim to be ignorant on this; they’re a member of NATO, they sat with the 2008 Bucharest convention that invited Ukraine, and they understand the response that Russia gave that was articulated by none other than the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, William Burns, who in February 2009 published a memorandum called, “Nyet Means Nyet,” which means, “No Means No”: Russia will not tolerate losing Ukraine. Burns warned that if they continued to pursue the policy of NATO expansion into Ukraine, that the end result would be a Russian military response that will cause Ukraine to lose Crimea and Donbass. This was written in February 2009! So Germany can’t claim they didn’t know what the consequences of their actions were. They knew, everybody knew, and they did it nonetheless.

And now we take a look at what happened in Poland.

Germany says, “We don’t want to create a conflict.” Then why is Germany sending two Patriot batteries to the Ukrainian border? Why? First of all, the idea of German troops going into Poland to confront Russia should send anybody, with any common sense and any understanding of history, into panic! Germany should never send troops into Poland! Germany should have no interest in Poland. Germany has lost the right to be interested in Poland, because of their history!

I’m sorry, but now you’re sending missile batteries to the Polish-Ukrainian border? For what purpose? You say you don’t want a no-fly zone, then why are you putting missile batteries on the border, whose umbrella of coverage extends into Ukraine? You’re creating the conditions for a de facto no-fly zone, creating the very conflict that you say you don’t want to embrace, that you don’t want to go down that path.

I have trouble with Germany today. Germany is literally engaged in policies that have no other outcome other than conflict with Russia, while ignoring the fact that Russia has not attacked them. You know who has attacked them? The United States!

Ask yourselves, Germans, who attacked Nord Stream 1? Who attacked Nord Stream 2? Who is strangling the German economy, by preventing you from buying cheap, affordable, sustainable Russian gas, and insisting that instead, you buy expensive U.S. liquefied natural gas, that is bankrupting your society, bankrupting your economy? It’s not Russia’s fault that Germany is facing the problems that they’re facing today! It’s America’s fault, and it’s Germany’s fault for not recognizing this.

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak. If there are any questions, I’d be more than happy to take them.