German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has come under fire for comments in support of Ukraine that critics say show contempt for the voting public.
At a panel discussion in Prague on Wednesday, the Greens politician explained in English that she had promised the Ukrainians to support them for as long as necessary and would therefore keep her word - "no matter what my German voters think."
The Foreign Ministry came to the aid of the country's top diplomat on Thursday. It noted that a video on social media featuring Baerbock's remarks had clearly been edited, and spoke of an apparent "disinformation" campaign.
During the Prague discussion, Baerbock also warned of a split in Western democracies. In this context, she stressed that she stands in solidarity with the people of Germany as well as with the people of Ukraine.
The chair of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, called for Baerbock's resignation. "Anyone who expressly ignores the interests of voters in Germany should not hold ministerial office," Weidel tweeted.
Bundestag lawmaker Sevim Dagdelen of the hard-left Die Linke party charged that a foreign minister who acted according to the motto "Ukraine first, citizens don't matter" was a "total failure."
On Twitter, Norbert Röttgen of the conservative Christian Democrats spoke of "sham heroism" because the majority of Germans are ready to support Ukraine. "Democratic politicians must try to convince others with good arguments and not with 'that's the way it is.'"
The Foreign Ministry retweeted reaction from its commissioner for strategic communications, Peter Ptassek. He spoke of "off-the-shelf disinformation" in the form of the edited video, which was boosted by "pro-Russian accounts."
"Will we allow ourselves to be divided in such a cheap manner? I don't think so," Ptassek wrote.
