Power struggle in Russia
Baerbock shortens South Africa trip
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has shortened her trip to South Africa. photo
© Fabian Sommer/dpa
Because of the uprising in Russia, the Foreign Minister has postponed her departure by one day. Some important dates will be cancelled.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is shortening her planned two-day trip to South Africa because of the power struggle in Russia. The minister had “postponed her planned departure for South Africa by one day in order to attend a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday morning in view of the latest developments in Russia,” said a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. Baerbock is now planning to leave for South Africa on Monday afternoon.
Scheduled dates in Cape Town will be cancelled. The minister wants to chair a meeting of the German-South African binational commission, which meets every two years, with Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor in the capital Pretoria on Tuesday. Baerbock originally wanted to visit a company in Cape Town on Monday that is part of the World Health Organization (WHO) vaccine hub, which is funded by Germany. This is intended to promote the expansion of vaccine production on the African continent.
According to her house, Baerbock had discussed the situation with the foreign ministers of the other G7 countries on Saturday because of developments in Russia. In addition to Germany, the G7 countries of the economically strong democracies also include France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the USA and Great Britain. A crisis team met at the Federal Foreign Office.
The power struggle between the Russian government and the private army Wagner of the Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had previously escalated. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine for 16 months. In addition to the Russian professional army, the Wagner mercenaries were also an important unit in combat.