Germany signals willingness to take in Russians fleeing war
Shafaq News / German ministers have indicated that people fleeing Russia could apply for asylum in Germany after President Vladimir Putin ordered what he called a "partial military mobilization."
Several German government ministers have indicated that under specific conditions, Germany is ready to take in Russians fleeing the "partial military mobilization" ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Deserters threatened with serious repression can, as a rule, obtain international protection in Germany," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in an interview with the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
"Anyone who courageously opposes Putin's regime and thereby falls into great danger, can file for asylum on grounds of political persecution," she said.
German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann tweeted using the hashtag "partial mobilization" that "apparently, many Russians are leaving their homeland — anyone who hates Putin's path and loves liberal democracy is welcome in Germany."
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock praised Russian anti-war protesters and added that no one inside the country can continue turning a blind eye to what's happening in Ukraine because "every Russian is now going to be at risk of being drafted into this war."
German Bundestag parliamentarian Robin Wagener of the Greens told DW that it has always been a "cause of the West to open borders to those fleeing from regimes," like those seen in the former Soviet Union.
"When I hear [Ukrainian] President Zelenskyy saying directly to Russian young men, 'protest against the regime, fight it or flee.' Then there needs to be a place to flee to," he said.
Wagener added that under European law, persons fleeing from military service, when this military service is also linked to war crimes, have the right to asylum.
"We should keep to that and have our arms open for those fleeing," he said.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed reports of draft-age men from Russia fleeing en masse after Putin's announcement.
"The information about the hype at airports and so on is very much exaggerated. ... There is a lot of fake information about this. We need to be very careful about this so as not to become a victim of false information on this matter," he said.
Since Putin declared a "partial mobilization" of reservists, flights for the coming days from Russia to visa-free countries including Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Serbia have sold out entirely. Lengthy lines were reported at Russia's borders with Georgia, Finland, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
(DW)
