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The current proposition by the Russian chairman is unacceptable to the interests of Europe. Following this agreement, the Cossack and Ukrainian peoples of the Black Sea region would remain without national sovereignity and freedom. The Russian Republic may speak fine words, but their intent is still unknown, with the current peace proposal Russia would be left in a very strong position to once more declare war on Europe and recapture these territories in a matter of years, something that would be against the interests of the world. Our information on Russian internal affairs is extensive, and even those without our information one can quite frankly reach the same conclusion, that Russia is presently very unstable, and there seems to be a great risk that revanchists, god-hating atheists, assassins, world revolutionaries or probably a combination of all the former may grasp power. It would be cruel of us to leave the people of Ukraine in such a dire situation or to perform our duty in securing the future European peace in a perfunctory manner.

Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg