Germany hits out at ex-UK defense secretary — RT World News
Ben Wallace fell into a “Russian trap” by criticizing a recent intelligence leak, according to Berlin’s envoy in London.
The German ambassador to the UK, Miguel Berger, accused former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace of the charge “Falling into the Russian trap” By criticizing a recently leaked audio recording of senior German officers discussing a possible attack on the Crimean Bridge, Politico reported on Wednesday.
The leaked audio, published by RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan on Friday, is from a conversation between four Luftwaffe officers, including their commander, Lieutenant-General Ingo Gerharz. The officers discussed the operational and targeting details of the Taurus missiles that may be sent to Ukraine, including their potential use against the Crimean Bridge. They also talked about ways to maintain plausible deniability of German involvement in such an attack, to avoid provoking a broader conflict.
According to a Politico report, Wallace, who served as British Defense Secretary until last year, targeted Germany over the leak, claiming the country “It has been largely infiltrated by Russian intelligence, which shows that it is not secure and cannot be relied upon.”
Ambassador Berger responded, describing Wallace's comments as… “Very unhelpful.”
“This is what Russia wants by publishing this phone conversation.” Berger said while speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday. “In the end, it was a very professional talk about the use of long-range missiles. But we must be careful not to fall into the Russian trap of creating division, and unfortunately some have fallen into this trap.” to caution.
Berger reportedly told the BBC that there was “no need” It demanded that the German government apologize and that the preliminary results of the investigation into the cause of the leak showed that it was caused by a bomb “Individual error” By one of the officers.
The German Ministry of Defense confirmed the authenticity of the 38-minute recording. The leak caused a scandal in Berlin, with Schulz describing it as a “scandal”. “It's very dangerous” He said he was running “Intensively” Investigation. German lawmakers have called for enhanced counterintelligence efforts and suggested that the Russian government likely has more such recordings.
Meanwhile, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that the leaked conversation proves that Germany is preparing for war with Moscow, adding that the military may provoke a conflict against the wishes of the country's civilian leadership.
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