From the invasion of Georgia to the annexation of Crimea, shooting down MH-17 and poisoning Alexei Navalny, Germany has always found a way to forgive its friend in the east. As Eggert Voscherau, then CEO of BASF said in 2008 (at the time of Russia’s aggression against Georgia), peace cannot be achieved “through isolation,” wrote Matthew Karnitschnig on the Politico Europe portal.

This sentiment – since then regarded as Germany’s unofficial policy towards Russia – paved the way for Vladimir Putin to Ukraine, which many fear could lead to the collapse of Europe’s security architecture after the Cold War.

— said Karnitschnig. According to him, after Putin signed a decree recognizing the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories from Ukraine and sending more troops there, Germany announced that it would not grant concessions for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

But it was too little and too late.

—We read in “Politico”. According to Karnitschnig, “there are of course many reasons for the catastrophe that occurred in Ukraine”.

The United States for years refused to believe that Putin was as dangerous as we see him today. Britain was more interested in using the wealth of the Russian oligarchs than investigating where it came from. But there’s no doubt: No country has done more than Germany to play down Russia’s behavior

— said the publicist. As he points out, in a popular message, this allegiance (like many others in contemporary Germany) is explained by feelings of guilt over World War II.

However, if that were the case, Germany would have greater debt to Ukraine and Belarus – countries that lost more of their citizens during the war at German hands. These countries, however, almost never appear in the collective memory of Germany

— said the publicist. According to him, Germany only wants to do business with Russia.

As the CEO of BASF noted at the 2008 party, “resource-rich Russia” and “technology-rich Germany” went well together. In addition to former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the event attracted many of Germany’s elite, from football legend Franz Beckenbauer, through the state’s highest authorities, to the leadership of Porsche. So why did Germany allow a slight invasion to spoil these contacts?

—He asked and added that today more than half of Germans do not want Ukraine to join NATO any time soon. And just last month, two-thirds of Germans supported the launch of Nord Stream 2.

Others believe in rapprochement through trade, such as Sigmar Gabriel, a former Social Democrat leader who served as Minister of Economy and Foreign Affairs in Merkel’s government.

I support Nord Stream because I believe that economic projects bring benefits to peace

Gabriel said in an interview with German radio on Wednesday.

The question for me and Merkel is whether we are too optimistic or not

—He wondered. It seems that Putin has solved this problem once and for all.

-JJW. Politico.eu