The head of the German navy resigned followinga controversy sparked by his comments that Russian President Vladimir Putin deserves the “respect“and the Crimean Peninsula”will never come backto Ukraine, the German Defense Ministry confirmed on Saturday.
Navy Inspector Kay-Achim Schönbach made the comments in India on Friday. They prompted Ukraine to appeal to the German ambassador and Schönbach to try to remove them on Saturday.
“What he really wants is respect“, he said of Putin.”And, my God, giving someone respect is inexpensive, if not free. If asked, it would even be easy to give him the respect he really demands and probably also deserves.“
Schönbach’s comments came following Moscow stationed 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders, leading to weeks of diplomatic wrangling to prevent hostilities from breaking out. Russia denies it is planning an invasion, but has also demanded that NATO promise not to admit Ukraine and not expand further into Eastern Europe.
