Ex-German FM, Politicians, Scientists Join Appeal for Easing Tension With Russia

On April 14, 2018 multiple figures from different countries spoke in favor of returning common sense to international relations and have suggested a joint search for a political solution to the existing crisis. They have urged, to find and utilize "new roads to an order of peace and security from Vancouver to Vladivostok," in accordance with the Charter of Paris for a New Europe. The original signees to the appeal are German conductor Justus Frantz, former chief of staff of the German armed forces Harald Kujat, physicist Bruno Redeker, the CEO of the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker foundation.

Many prominent figures from countries all over the world have also signed the appeal, such as former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, German historian Jörg Baberowski, Russian political scientist Vladislav Belov, Russian economist Ruslan Grinberg, French philosopher Rémi Brague, Polish philosopher Andrzej Bronk, Austrian physicist Christian Fabjan, former SPD chairman and head of the Brandenburg cabinet Matthias Platzeck, Islamic scholar Ralph Ghadban, publicist and author from Paris Alfred Grosser, political scientist Alexander Rahr, former German Interior Minister Otto Schily as well as many others.

"The time is running out! Sign to join our appeal to the great of this world in order to break the antagonism of provocation and counter-provocation, suspicions and accusations, threats and counter-threats, sanctions and counter-sanctions, erroneous judgments and exaggerated reactions and to return to jointly applied reason," says the appeal, published on the website of the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker foundation, which has been translated from German into English and Russian.

The appeal focuses on multiple present problems, such as climate change, wars and the refugee crisis. The signatories warn of the existing danger that Russia and the United States "no longer see themselves as the stabilizing and leading powers." They also note that now these nations mainly consider themselves "the representatives of national interests" and that China, India, Turkey and Iran are increasingly showing the same trend.

The signees believe, that the mutual predictability of the Cold War and mutual trust after its end has been "mostly lost." They claim it instead has given way to political tensions, military confrontation and the return of an arms race with the addition of China to it. The appeal also warns that the use of the newest technologies in both conventional and nuclear armaments poses a threat to all people, as a simple human error and technical fault could push humanity "dangerously close to the point of no return."

In the end, the appeal urges to prevent the further proliferation of nuclear weapons, to use political foresight and confidence-building military actions in the Middle East and Ukraine, to bring peace to hotspots in the world, such as Afghanistan and to ensure a reliable and real future for mankind.