The German army removed a soldier from the EU’s EUMM mission in Georgia following reports he supports Russian President Vladimir Putin and sees Moscow as blameless for the war in Ukraine.
According to investigations published by regional broadcaster SWR on Tuesday, the man’s views were not detected at the mandatory screening stage.
He was then sent to Georgia – which faced a Russian invasion of its territory in 2008 – to help monitor the situation and provide objective reports on compliance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Tbilisi as part of the EU Monitoring Mission EUMM.
According to SWR, the solider in question is a member of the far-right party AfD, known for its pro-Russian tendencies, blaming the US for Russia’s war of attack against Ukraine while accusing Western European governments of spreading false, anti-Russian propaganda.
He was abruptly pulled from the mission in late October once the security concerns came to light.
When asked how the solider managed to slip through the cracks and get admitted to the mission by SWR, a spokesperson of the Centre for International Peace Missions (ZIF), which is responsible for recruiting personnel, said it had had “no information” at the time.
“The first concrete pieces of evidence were brought to the attention of the ZIF in October 2022, after which steps were taken to end his deployment in Georgia,” they added.
The EUMM mission has been active in Georgia since October 2008 to monitor the ceasefire between Russia and Georgia, contribute to stabilising the situation, and provide independent information.
(Julia Dahm | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
