German politicians are criticizing the participation of German entrepreneurs in the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.
Roderich Kiesewetter, a CDU foreign policy politician, told the “Handelsblatt” that German firms who hosted a war criminal in St. Petersburg undermine Germany’s national security interests and damage the country’s international credibility. He urged the federal government to explicitly condemn such behavior, arguing that by representing German business, these figures are indirectly strengthening Russia and contributing to the normalization of what is an internationally illegal war of annihilation.
The criticism was echoed by Sebastian Roloff, the economic policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group. While acknowledging that participation and activities may be legally permissible provided they do not fall under EU sanctions, Roloff stated to the newspaper that these actions send a “catastrophic message”. He pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin is conducting an illegal war and is intentionally bombarding civilians in Ukraine every day.
Roloff conceded that a post-war scenario exists under a different Russian leadership. However, he firmly emphasized that the time for normalizing relations, either politically or economically, is still far away.
