Since the formation of the social-liberal coalition at the end of 1969, the suspicion is rife among CPSU leaders that SED General Secretary Ulbricht could be oriented towards a far too close relationship with the West German Social Democrats – disregarding the Soviet Union.
"What does Walter intend with the possibility, the completely unprovable possibility, the cooperation with the West German social democracy; what does he understand by the demand to help the Brandt government? Good, you don’t know and I don’t either," CPSU General Secretary Brezhnev complains in a one-to-one conversation with Erich Honecker. And he impresses upon the designated successor to Ulbrich: "Erich, I tell you quite frankly, don’t ever forget: without us, without the SU, its power and strength, the GDR can’t exist. Without us there is no GDR. (…) There is not, cannot, and must not be a process of rapprochement between West Germany and the GDR."
Note on statements made by Leonid I. Brezhnev to Erich Honecker, 20 August 1970 (in German)less
