By DPA,
Berlin : Gerhard Schroeder, the former German chancellor, has accused the West of major blunders in its dealings with Russia and said these had led to the crisis with Georgia.
In remarks during a speech in Berlin Monday, he contended it had been a blunder for the US to train Georgia’s military and establish anti-missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Schroeder said it had also been an error for Western nations to recognise Kosovo as independent.
“These policies must have seemed constricting to Russia,” he said, adding that the Georgian attack on South Ossetia had crossed “more red lines” for Moscow that led the Russians to counteract.
Schroeder said the only way back to peace and stability in Europe was further dialogue with Moscow.
He suggested the European Union should act as mediator because, unlike the US, it had no geo-political interests in the Caucasus.