26.10.2005
Germany's New Government:
The Moscow Business of Roland Koch - Whom Will Defend the New Germany's Defense Minister?
|
|
Simon Araloff, AIA European section, Freiburg im Breisgau
|
Previous part
 |
|
| Roland Koch |
|
While behind the New Germany's Defense Minister Franz Jung Roland Koch is seen, behind Koch's back it is possible to see a distinct image of the Kremlin. This circumstance causes a growing alarm of Eastern- European diplomats…
Koch's Unknown Activity
Roland Koch not only sent to Berlin his closest friend and colleague, but also he actively participates in the political life of the capital. Today he heads a working group of a new coalition on financial questions (Koalitions-Arbeitsgruppe Finanzen). This is the part of his activity on which the German press reports and which, thus, is known to the public. The external economic and foreign policy activity of the chief of Christian democrats of Hesse is much less known, especially on the Russian direction.
The active cooperation of the leadership and economic circles of Hesse with Russia started in 1991, before the collapse of the Soviet Union and independence declaration of the Russian Federation. Roland Koch was elected at that time on the post of vice-chairman of CDU faction in the Parliament of Hesse. The leadership of the Hesse branch of Christian democrats encouraged activity in Russia for two reasons. The first one is an opportunity of favorable investments within the framework of the privatisation process of the Russian state enterprises and infrastructures. The second reason - an opportunity of accommodation in the banks of Hesse of the Russian capitals, a wide stream of which flowed from Russia. It is necessary to remind, that during this period through the branch of the CDU of Hesse illegal infusion of money to the "black cash register" of the party went in the frameworks of already mentioned "CDU-Spendenaffare" case.
Later, in 2003, it became known, that, since 1992, the Russian company "St. Petersburg Realtor and Investment Company, SP AG" (" Sankt Petersburg Immobilen und Beteiligungs AG ") was engaged in "laundering" the money of the Russian criminal structures in Germany and their returning as "legal investments" back to Russia. For many years the headquarters of the company were stationed in a small town of Morfelden-Waldorf, in the south of… Hesse. The most interesting moment in this story is the participation in the activity of the SP AG of… Vladimir Putin, who in the beginning of the Nineties headed the department of external relations of Saint Petersburg's Mayor. For 7 years, up to becoming the head of the Russian government in August, 1999, Putin officially was registered as an adviser of the SP AG. During this period he repeatedly contacted with Roland Koch, who since 1993 was a chairman of CDU faction in Hesse Parliament. The investigation, which was carried out by the German police on the SP AG case, revealed Putin's participation in the work of the company, however, under the pressure of Gerhard Schroeder's office no real check of the Russian President's role in the SP AG activity took place. Thus, the relations between Putin and Koch in the Nineties remained unexplored. Finally, the SP AG case was "buried" in police archive, as well as the "CDU-Spendenaffare" three years earlier.
The scandal around the SP AG was hushed quickly, and it didn't affect in any way the development of relations of the Hesse CDU leadership with the Russian partners. Since 1992, the Cooperation bureau of Hesse and Yaroslavl continuously operates. Between the Hesse Land and the Yaroslavl area active economic cooperation within the framework of which the Hesse firms operated in this Russian region, was established. For example, the German Joint-stock company "Fraport AG" modernized the local airport "Tunoshna". The firm also rendered consulting services to the airport and participated in its management. Hesse firm DQS (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Zertifizierung von Managementsystemen mbH) actively participated in realization of land reform of the Yaroslavl territory. In August, 2003 Koch with his wife, accompanied by a delegation of more than 40 persons visited Yaroslavl.
For the last years Hesse's leadership makes a stress on cooperation with Moscow and the Moscow area. Today the representative offices of the largest international companies and concerns, the headquarters of which are in Hesse, are opened in the Russian capital. The first to remind is the "Winter-Shall" company on natural gas extraction, the affiliated firm of BASF Concern participating in construction of the Russian - German gas line on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Besides, in Moscow actively operate "Commerzbank" (banking), " Adam Oppel AG" (motor industry), "Dyckerhoff" (building industry), "Messe Frankfurt GmbH" (the exhibition company), and also the abovementioned Joint-stock "Fraport AG" Company. In 2003, during his visit to Russia, Roland Koch carried out lots of meetings with Moscow and Moscow area leadership. In the list of the high-ranking Russian politicians and officials who met with him were the mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, the governor of the Moscow area Boris Gromov and Minister of foreign economic relations of the Government of Moscow area Tigran Karakhanov. By the results of the meetings it was declared of signing the large-scale economic contract between the Moscow area and Hesse. Then the permanent mission of Hesse state in Moscow was opened, which was headed by Hubert Demmler, the head of the Moscow branch of "Messe Frankfurt GmbH".
These relations developed in July, 2005, when the governor of the Moscow area Boris Gromov visited the city of Wiesbaden in Hesse. He was accompanied by his deputies Igor Parkhomenko and Alexei Kuznetsov, the Minister of foreign economic relations of the Government of Moscow area Tigran Karakhanov, and also by the heads of several municipal formations of the Moscow suburbs. The purpose of the visit to Germany became the signing of the cooperation agreement between the Moscow area and Hesse state. The sides agreed, in particular, upon the creation in the Moscow area of industrial districts, where businessmen from Hesse could place their manufacturing facilities. The firms from Hesse as "Deller GmbH" and " Tetra Pak " (Hesse's branch of the Swedish company) have already expressed desire to take part in the work of these industrial districts.
In this connection it is necessary to note also the development of economic relations between Hesse and the Ural federal district of Russia. In April, 2005 the representative of the President of Russia in Uralsk district Petr Latishev came on an official visit to Frankfurt am Main, where he met with Roland Koch. This visit took place immediately after Putin and Schroeder's meeting in the German city of Weimar, and was sanctioned by the Russian President.
The Road to the Europe and Russia Union Passes Through Hesse.
However, Roland Koch is not limiting himself only to economical activities in Russia, but tries to play also an active role in the development of the Russian - German political relations. Representatives of Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are among his Russian contacts. For example, during the already mentioned visit to Russia in August, 2003, Koch met the assistant to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Valeri Loshin. During the meeting questions of foreign policy, of mutual relations between Russia and Germany, and also between Russia and the European Union were discussed.
Today, as well as before, Koch does not hide his positive attitude towards the present Russian leadership and declares that he will apply a maximum effort for integration of Russia into the European structures. "There is no even on important problem or a question in the world which could be resolved without participation of the Russian Federation - he declared during his visit to Yaroslavl in 2003 – The kind relations between Russia and Germany are not directed against anybody: they do good for Europe and the international security as a whole … Europe can become a true partner of Russia."
Thus, Koch consistently avoids criticizing the Russian leadership concerning infringement of human rights in Russia and, especially, concerning actions of the Russian army in the Chechen Republic. Even before the last parliamentary elections in Germany, when the candidate to the chancellor's post Angela Merkel criticized Vladimir Putin and promised to reconsider relations with Moscow, Koch confidently declared that in the case of CDU's victory no essential changes will take place in German foreign policy. "Mutual relations between our countries are based on mutual interests - he declared - Our aspiration to good relations with Russia is determined by historical, geographical and economic forces ".
Friendship with Putin's Family
On the background of vigorous economical and political activity of Roland Koch in Russia, personal connections of his family with the family of the President Putin also developed. In October, 2002, under Koch's initiative, the spouse of the Russian President Lyudmila Putin received the Jacob Grimm prize "for a special contribution to the popularization of German language". Roland Koch and his wife were present on the solemn ceremony of delivering the prize, which took place in the city of Kassel, in Hesse. Almost a year later, in August, 2003, Koch's spouse, Anke, visited Moscow together with her husband and was been accepted in the Kremlin by Lyudmila Putin. It is known, that Koch and Putin, through their offices, exchange congratulatory messages on birthdays, holidays and other occasions.
Will the New German Defense Minister Defend Russia?
In view of all that, quite a reasonable question arises: whom exactly the closest friend and colleague of Roland Koch, Franz Josef Jung will protect in the rank of German Defense Minister? This is a serious question for the countries of Eastern Europe, especially those, bordering Russia. Germany as one of the main members of NATO is the guarantor of safety of these countries in the case of disputed situation with Moscow. And there are no doubts in Warsaw and in the capitals of Baltic States, that such situations will arise. It is enough to recollect that during the last incident with the Russian military plane crashing in the territory of Lithuania, the leader of the Russian Liberal - Democratic party Vladimir Zhirinovsky called to bomb Vilnius. The problem is that Zhirinovsky's position share many politicians from such Russian parties as "United Russia" and "Rodina". Besides, it is possible to recollect the recent military drills of the Russian commandos near the Latvian and Estonian border in the heat of the crisis around the agreement on this border. Eastern-European diplomats in Berlin, those, who in subtleties of relations inside the CDU, are alarmed by the promotion of Franz Jung to the post of German Defence Minister, claiming it became the next large victory of the Kremlin after signing the German-Russian contract on construction of a gas pipeline on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
Related items:
Schroeder - Putin Pact: Germany and Russia Divide Europe Again
Schauble against Russian, Chinese and Iranian Intelligence (19.10.2005)
The Curator of Germany's Secret Services Will Shape his Country's Foreign Policy (14.10.2005)
Main Page | News Page | 007 News | Print
|
|
|
|
