Interview: NATO uses Ukraine as sacrificial pawn in defeating Russia, says German lawmaker

People take part in a protest against Sweden hosting a large international military exercise and the country striving to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Patrick Ekstrand/Xinhua)

A German lawmaker has accused NATO of fighting a proxy war against Russia by supplying military aid to Ukraine.

BERLIN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A German lawmaker has accused the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of fighting a proxy war against Russia by supplying military aid to Ukraine.

"If we picture this conflict as a game of chess, then NATO is looking for pawns that can be sacrificed if need be, to secure a better position," Sevim Dagdelen, a member of Germany's lower house of Parliament, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

By delivering weapons and deploying NATO military advisors in Ukraine, NATO is now waging a proxy war against Russia to defeat the nuclear power through a combination of military force and an all-out economic war, said Dagdelen, chairwoman of the Die Linke (Left Party) parliamentary group of the German Bundestag's Committee on Foreign Affairs.

People take part in a protest against Sweden hosting a large international military exercise and the country striving to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Patrick Ekstrand/Xinhua)

She said that NATO is not a defense alliance, even though that is the constant refrain of Western leaders.

At the same time, the military pact is engaged in an aggressive arms drive and is thwarting all negotiation efforts regarding the Ukraine crisis, she said.

The NATO summit, slated for July 11-12 in Vilnius, Lithuania, would bring Ukraine closer to the alliance, said Secretary-General of the organization Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the summit.

"The discussions in the run-up to the NATO summit are extremely worrying," she said, adding that a debate is taking place within NATO about giving Ukraine NATO membership or NATO-style security guarantees, which would bring about a war between NATO and Russia.