At a meeting with her Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke out in favor of a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict. “Because diplomacy is the only viable way,” said the Green politician on Monday, referring to Ukrainian fears of an attack by Russia. “We have staying power,” she emphasized. Germany is ready for dialogue with Russia.
With a view to Ukrainian demands for German arms deliveries, Baerbock said that it was important not to allow the crisis to escalate any further, but to solve it with diplomatic means. At the same time, the politician emphasized: “Any renewed aggression would – we have emphasized this again – have a high price.”
The EU and the US have threatened severe sanctions in the event of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine. Baerbock advocated revitalizing the so-called Normandy format to resolve the conflict. Germany and France mediate in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Baerbock announced that she would soon visit the contact line in the Donbass conflict area with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to get an idea of the situation there. The situation there is “more than depressing”, especially now in winter, she said after a talk at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Kiev. Baerbock said: “We need progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreement.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also called on Russia to take clear steps towards de-escalation. The situation worries the governments in Berlin and Madrid and is “very, very serious,” said Scholz in Madrid at a press conference with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
“Military aggression against Ukraine would have serious political and economic consequences. That’s why it’s our job to do everything we can to avoid such a development, from which everyone has to suffer in the end,” warned Scholz. Scholz expressed reservations about Ukraine’s demand for arms deliveries from Germany.
Russia wants nothing to do with hacking Ukraine
A peace plan agreed in Minsk (Belarus) is currently on hold. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of violating the agreement. According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed separatists in Donbass since 2014. The EU and the USA, among others, have imposed sanctions on Russia because of the Ukraine conflict.
With a view to a major cyber attack on the Ukrainian government’s websites, Baerbock offered to provide experts from the Federal Office for Information Security for support and reconnaissance. Russia has denied allegations of having anything to do with the hacker attack.
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In addition to the Russian troop deployment on the Ukrainian border, the talks in Ukraine should focus on Kiev’s demands for German arms deliveries and the stop of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
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Before her departure, the Greens politician Baerbock had said on Monday: “We are ready for a serious dialogue about mutual agreements and steps that will bring more security to everyone in Europe, including Russia.” But there could be no compromises on basic principles such as territorial inviolability , the free choice of alliance and the renunciation of the threat of violence.
Russia sees its security threatened by NATO and is therefore demanding an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and, in particular, a renunciation of Ukraine’s membership. The West, on the other hand, is alarmed by the Russian troop deployment near Ukraine. Baerbock emphasized that they were “determined to react” if Russia went down the path of escalation.
She will listen carefully to her interlocutors, “but also explain in all clarity the position that we in the EU, in the G7 and in the transatlantic alliance represent,” Baerbock explained in view of the fruitless negotiations in various international formats. “I want to find out on site whether there is a willingness to find solutions through diplomatic channels – above all, to breathe life into the Normandy process again and finally make progress in implementing the Minsk agreements.”
Military maneuvers of Russia and Belarus
Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus are planning joint military maneuvers for February. According to the state news agency Belta, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked his defense minister to set an exact date. “We planned to start exercises in February,” Belta quoted the president as saying on Monday.
“Set an exact date and let us know, lest we be accused of pulling together some soldiers out of the blue as if we were preparing for war.”
Lukashenko was referring to warnings from Western countries and Ukraine that Russia had massed troops on the border with Ukraine and was planning an invasion. The government in Moscow has repeatedly denied such plans. Belarus is a close ally of its direct neighbor Russia. Belarus also borders Ukraine and the EU states and NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. (dpa/AFP)