The former U.S. ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, has said that Germany has lost the moral right to lead the reconstruction of Ukraine.
In an interview with Poland’s Rzeczpospolita newspaper, she cited the German insistence on pursuing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project and the way it contributed to making Europe dependent on Russian energy as contributing factors to Russian President Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine.
Mosbacher hoped that the reconstruction of Ukraine would be a major opportunity for the Central and Eastern European countries of the Three Seas Initiative, states which she believes share a common history and “could be trusted,” as they have close relations with the United States.
The former ambassador to Poland acknowledged that the reconstruction of Ukraine would be a huge task and require input on a global scale involving both private and state capital, but she also said that Ukraine had to guarantee that these funds would be used in a transparent way.
The diplomat said she felt not enough attention was being given to how to handle Russia once the war was over. She added that it is wishful thinking that should Putin lose power, Russia would return to democratic ways and the West could revert to “business as usual.“ She also said that the EU’s policy towards Russia had been a spectacular failure and meant that Europe had to change its policy towards nuclear power. Mosbacher praised Poland for having realized this much earlier than other European states.
The former top U.S. diplomat to Poland said she was still of the view that Poland deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for its reaction to the war in Ukraine, calling the Polish effort extraordinary and insisting it should be acknowledged, respected, publicized, and rewarded.
