Saturday

9th Dec 2023

EUobserved

Did Merkel do a deal with Putin on Afghan refugees?

  • Russian president Vladimir Putin with German chancellor Angela Merkel last Friday (Photo: kremlin.ru)
Listen to article

Ukraine claims Germany did a deal with Russia on Afghan refugees to snub its recent Crimea summit, but EU diplomats find it hard to believe.

"[Russian president Vladimir] Putin demanded of [German chancellor Angela] Merkel the withdrawal of [German foreign] minister [Heiko] Maas from the Crimea Platform and she abided by his wishes," a Ukrainian government source told EUobserver, referring to this week's Crimea summit and to a meeting between Putin and Merkel last Friday (20 August).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • German foreign minister Heiko Maas declined to go to Kyiv at the last minute (Photo: bundeskanzlerin.de)

"We have also heard that, in Moscow, Putin convinced Merkel of Russian influence with the Taliban, including when it comes to dynamics that will determine how large the flow of migrants is from Afghanistan to Europe, especially Germany," the source said.

"Ukraine and its territorial integrity are being used as a bargaining chip by Germany and Europe in their relations with the Kremlin," the Ukrainian source added.

The Ukrainian contact said he had proof of his allegations, but he declined to share it, referring to the sensitivity of the information and the need to protect sources.

He also cited circumstantial facts which, he said, indicated that Putin had been "emboldened" by his Merkel meeting.

Russia, the same day, also blacklisted Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, because of the Crimea summit, for instance.

"Sanctioning a foreign minister is extremely rare," in terms of international diplomacy, the Ukrainian source noted.

Germany's Maas had been due to attend the Crimea Platform in Kyiv on Monday and Tuesday to showcase EU resistance to Russia's occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula.

But Maas pulled out at the last minute, citing the need to focus on Afghanistan evacuations, with Germany sending its economy and energy minister, Peter Altmaier, instead.

The German foreign ministry did not reply to EUobserver's questions.

But a German source played down the last-minute change, saying Altmaier was a close ally of Merkel and an important figure in Germany's ruling coalition.

"I don't think minister Altmaier would see himself as a downgrade," the German contact said.

Meanwhile, France and Italy made similar downgrades to their Crimea Platform delegations, in what Ukraine saw as the major EU states following Germany's lead.

But an EU diplomat also poured cold water on Ukraine's claims of a Merkel-Putin deal.

"It sounds like a typical Ukrainian conspiracy theory," he told this website.

The fact Merkel went to see Russia before going to Ukraine and that she sent Altmaier still created bad optics in Kyiv, the EU diplomat noted, however.

"Ukraine's [other] allies sent presidents, prime ministers, foreign, or defence ministers [to the Crimea summit], because the occupation of Crimea is not a matter for energy ministers," he said.

Altmaier is also "associated in Europe with a pro-Russian agenda, not least because he is a big supporter of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which harms Ukraine by making its EU gas-transit system obsolete.

"It was senseless of Altmaier to go [to Kyiv] and it looked like a provocation," the EU source said.

"But Germany has had a 'Russia first' policy for over 30 years and nothing has really changed," he said.

For all that, the question remains whether Putin is able to leverage the Afghan crisis to frighten EU leaders into making deals.

Refugee politics

For the EU diplomat, Russia and Belarus had, together, tried to aggravate EU fears on immigration by recently pushing thousands of Arab and African asylum-seekers over the Belarusian border into Lithuania and Poland.

"This looks like a joint [Belarus-Russia] operation," he said.

But for one Belarusian opposition activist, who asked not to be named to protect his safety, even if Putin was telling Afghan scare stories to EU leaders, then he was bluffing.

The last thing Putin would want, politically speaking, would be to open a corridor for Afghan refugees to go through Russia en route to the EU, the Belarusian source said.

"German [federal] elections are in September, so Russia would have a very small window of opportunity for such operations," the source noted, referring to the threat that new arrivals of refugees might harm Merkel's party in the vote.

"Meanwhile, the [1980s-era] Afghanistan war is a bad memory for all Russians. Chechnya [a majority Muslim Russian region] and its terrorism have also left their mark. To play with all this before the parliamentary elections in Russia [in September]? Islamic refugees on Russian territory during tough elections? I'm not so sure," he said.

Far left and right MEPs less critical of China and Russia

MEPs have shown consistent support for action against authoritarian regimes other than Russia or China, but unanimity requirements in the votes of the European Council are considered a clear impediment for a more effective EU foreign policy.

Von der Leyen offers funding for resettling Afghans

EU Commission chief said the EU executive was ready to provide funding for EU countries that helped resettle refugees and planned to raise the resettlement issue at a G7 meeting on Tuesday

EU prepares to keep out Afghan refugees

EU countries are preparing to stop Afghan refugees from potentially entering Europe en masse, amid fears of a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis.

Latest News

  1. How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis
  2. Many problems to solve in Dubai — honesty about them is good
  3. Sudanese fleeing violence find no haven in Egypt or EU
  4. How should EU reform the humanitarian aid system?
  5. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  6. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  7. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  8. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us