Government after Baerbock statement: “We are not a party to the war”

Status: 01/27/2023 4:56 p.m

Days later, Foreign Minister Baerbock’s statement that they were fighting “a war against Russia” has sparked heated debates. “We are not a party to the war,” emphasized a government spokeswoman. But Moscow uses Baerbock’s sentence for its own propaganda.

After a controversial statement by Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the federal government emphasized that Germany was not a party to the war in Ukraine. “NATO and Germany are not at war in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann. “We support Ukraine, but we are not a party to the war.”

At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Tuesday, the Foreign Minister called for solidarity among the western allies. She said: “We are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other.”

Russian propaganda picks up on the statement

The Russian state media took up this statement as a central key sentence for war propaganda – as proof that Germany and the other EU countries are direct conflict parties in Ukraine and are fighting against Russia.

In the longer discussion in which the statement was made, the point was to underline that the EU, the G7 countries and NATO are united against the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, said a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office. “Russian propaganda keeps taking statements, sentences, attitudes, positions of the federal government, our partners, and twisting them in such a way that it serves their purpose. In my opinion, it makes no sense to go into that here now,” said the spokesman. “Whoever is escalating here is Russia.”

Government emphasizes: Germany is not a war party

In the sense of international law, Germany is not a party to a conflict. “In this context, the Foreign Minister must be understood,” said the spokesman. The German embassy in Moscow also supported this position: “Supporting Ukraine with material to exercise its individual right of self-defense against Russia’s illegal war of aggression, which is enshrined in the UN Charter, does not make Germany a party to the conflict.”

The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, had demanded an explanation from the German ambassador in Moscow about contradictory statements from Berlin. On the one hand, Germany declares that it is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine. On the other hand, Baerbock says that the countries of Europe are at war with Russia. “Do you understand what you’re talking about?” Wrote the spokeswoman on the Telegram news channel.

Baerbock “called things by their proper name” in the Council of Europe, said Zakharova, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. Citizens of NATO countries should know that the military alliance “is fully engaged in confrontation with our country and this confrontation is growing”.

Huber: Baerbock is a massive security risk

CSU General Secretary Martin Huber said: “Annalena Baerbock is a massive security risk for our country.” Anyone who talks about German participation in the war is talking Germany into a war.

Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer demanded clarification from Baerbock in the “Sächsische Zeitung”. “The foreign minister is our top diplomat. She has to weigh up her words,” said the CDU politician. “In the acute situation, we cannot allow ourselves to make ambiguous statements.”

AfD co-boss Tino Chrupalla called for Baerbock’s dismissal. “The Federal Foreign Minister is jeopardizing Germany’s existence with her unprofessional and cheeky behavior,” he said, according to a statement.

Also criticism on social media

There was also harsh criticism of Baerbock and her statements on social networks. Dietmar Bartsch, parliamentary group leader of the left, described the minister’s statement as “incomprehensible”.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz had on Wednesday evening in ZDF When asked whether Germany and its allies weren’t taking part in the war with the tank deliveries that had now been decided, the answer was: “No, absolutely not.” He added: “There must be no war between Russia and NATO.”

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