The government of Poland has announced that they are not pleased that France and Germany are going close to Russia, and many political authorities have criticized the bond.
Poland’s deputy prime minister accused France and Germany of having too strong ties to Russia in an interview published Sunday, as he condemned Berlin’s behaviour towards Moscow before the invasion of Ukraine.
“Germany, like France, has a strong bias in Moscow’s favor,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is also the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, told the German daily Die Welt in an interview.
Kaczynski saved his most vital words for Berlin.
“Over the years, the German government did not want to see what Russia was doing under the leadership of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and we see the result today,” Kaczynski said.
“Poland is not pleased with Germany’s role in Europe,” he added.
He rebuked Berlin for seeking to rebuild what the former 19th-century chancellor Otto von Bismarck “had done… German domination but side by side with Russia”.
The Polish deputy prime minister condemned Berlin especially for failing to deliver enough weapons to Ukraine and refusing an embargo at least on the import of oil from Russia.
“It’s important to know that Russia gets four to five times more revenue from its oil sales than gas sales,” Kaczynski said.
“We cannot continue to permanently support a great power like Russia by paying it billions,” he added.
Before Russia’s invasion on February 24th, Germany imported 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia, half its coal, and around 35 percent of its oil.
Macron has previously come under criticism for his relationship with Putin and their close contact. According to political reports, his dealings with the Russian prime minister in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been one such sore point.
Meanwhile, France and Germany are preparing for a cut in Russian gas deliveries. On Thursday, France’s economy minister said that Putin warned Moscow would turn off supply for those who refuse to pay in rubles.
