Peace in Europe can only be achieved through diplomacy with Moscow, Kay-Achim Schonbach has said
Germany and the EU risk “sleepwalking” into a direct confrontation with Russia by becoming parties to the Ukraine conflict after abandoning diplomatic engagement with Moscow, the former head of the German Navy has warned in an interview with Berliner Zeitung.
Former German Navy chief Kay-Achim Schonbach resigned in early 2022 after triggering a political uproar by arguing that Russia was acting to protect its security interests rather than seeking confrontation with the West.
Looking back, Schonbach said he would not change the substance of his comments, arguing that Europe missed a chance to prevent the escalation of the Ukraine conflict by failing to “respect the Russian Federation’s right to its own vision of a security architecture on its western border.”
Schonbach emphasized that peace and stability in Europe can only be possible “with, and not against, Russia.”
He also raised concerns that given their current trajectory, Germany and the EU could go beyond legitimate support for Ukraine and “sleepwalk into the role of a belligerent.”
“Only in Ukraine is diplomacy categorically rejected,” he noted, arguing that Germany had squandered decades of postwar reconciliation with Moscow through “moralizing and righteous anger.”
Schonbach also said contacts between the German and Russian navies are now “completely severed,” something he said did not happen even at the height of the Cold War.
Read more Talking about peace is a Russian trap – KallasHis warning comes as European NATO members have continued to expand military spending and harden their rhetoric toward Moscow. Czech President Petr Pavel recently urged NATO to “show its teeth” to Russia, while senior Western commanders have called for Europe to prepare for a possible 2030 war with Moscow.
In Germany, opposition figures from both the right-wing AfD and Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW have also consistently criticized Berlin’s Ukraine policy, calling for renewed dialogue with Russia, an end to weapons deliveries to Kiev, and a rethink of sanctions that they say have decimated Germany’s own economy.
Moscow has repeatedly denied claims that it plans to attack NATO or the EU, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling them “nonsense” and “provocation” used to justify militarization.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also stressed that Russia has no intention of attacking Europe unless attacked first, and has accused German and EU leadership of transforming the bloc into “a Fourth Reich.”
Hence then, the article about eu could sleepwalk into conflict with russia ex german navy chief was published today ( ) and is available on Russia Today ( News ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( EU could ‘sleepwalk’ into conflict with Russia – ex-German navy chief )
Also on site :
- UN watchdog demands Iran provide information on nuclear stockpile
- SRAD Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Sportradar Group AG Securities Fraud Lawsuit with the Schall Law Firm
- NYT Connections Sports Edition Today: Hints and Answers for Thursday, June 11, 2026