Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, has expressed understanding for Germany’s difficulties in finding its role in Europe in the wake of the Ukraine war.
“Given history, it is not an easy task for Germany to assume a leadership role in Europe based on being the strongest military power,” Kissinger told journalists in London on Monday, whom he was connected to via video conference.
“I feel for the German government given the task they have set themselves and that they have not been able to rush into something that is so different from previous tasks with a ready plan,” said the now 99-year-old US statesman.
Germany will play a very important role in creating the new Europe that is now emerging, Kissinger said. This applies both to the security of Europe against the threat of further Russian aggression and to the reconstruction of Ukraine. “That will require Marshall Plan-style support,” he added.
Kissinger shaped US foreign policy from the late 1960s for nearly a decade, first as National Security Advisor, then as Secretary of State. He comes from a German-Jewish family and had to flee Germany from the Nazis in 1938.
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