"No Special Path for Germany in Ukraine Crisis" states the Spiegel Online in the title of its editorial, published on May 5. The title is explained in the following sentence: "To contain the forces of madness in Ukraine, the West must prepare to work together with Russian President Vladimir Putin. If he doesn't comply and continues to lie, then tough sanctions must follow. For Germany, there can be no special path."
The article condemns Gerhard Schroeder's friendly meeting with Vladimir Putin when Ukraine is close to civil war and when German soldiers, part of the OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine, were being held hostage by a self-appointed "people's governor": "Schröder's gesture struck many as obscene and it is certainly not the correct way to deal with a man who is threatening peace in Europe. Dialogue, yes. But that kind of open embrace is unacceptable".
The editorial board of the Spiegel Online proposed the following solution to the Ukrainian crisis: "Peace must trump unity and unity must be decided by the majority in each region... [I]f the people in the eastern part of the country determine they absolutely want to declare their independence or become part of Russia, they should also be given the possibility to do so. If a majority determines it wants to remain part of Ukraine, then everything possible must be done to ensure that the country remains intact. The people shouldn't be forced into a hurried vote under pressure as happened in Crimea".
The authors also believe that the West should make it clear that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO or the EU in the foreseeable future.
However, the authors write, if Russia continues breaking the international law, Germany should support the strictest sanctions, no matter how bad the effect for Germany's own economy might be: "If Putin doesn't fulfill his obligations, if he torpedoes the process, tough economic sanctions must follow immediately. They will be painful to Russia, but also to Germany and its partners. Complaints, though, should be ignored. Political order on the Continent and the containment of an aggressor must take precedence over gross national product."
