During her first official visit to Russia, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tried to calm things down. Relations between Russia and NATO are strained. Once again it is about Ukraine. This is how the press judged the meeting with the Russian colleague.
The conflict over Ukraine threatens to escalate. “We are now at a stage where Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine at any time,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington on Tuesday. The situation is “extremely dangerous”. Russia had recently positioned troops on the border with neighboring Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also found clear words for this. The country may reduce its troops on the border with the neighboring country. Otherwise there would be “high costs” if Russia invaded Ukraine.
Because of a massive Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine, the West fears that Russia is preparing to invade the neighboring country. The government in Moscow denies this.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock traveled to Moscow for her inaugural visit on Thursday. There she met her colleague Sergey Lavrov. In the conversation, Baerbock campaigned for a speedy resumption of the peace negotiations in the Ukraine conflict. “Now it is important to breathe life into the Normandy process again,” Baerbock said on her first visit to Moscow. Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia are involved in the Normandy format for a solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian government for years. It is good that everyone has committed to the Minsk peace plan, said the Greens politician.
And how did Germany’s new foreign policymaker fare at her first meeting with the diplomatic veteran? This is how the press commented on the performance:
“Foreign policy learners visit the diplomacy professional”
“Weser Courier”: “Despite a lightning start with many inaugural visits, Baerbock has cut a good figure in the past few weeks. She was self-confident, but never appeared arrogant. Her principles are evident: listen carefully, avoid mistakes. Some of her contemporaries didn’t think she was capable of that.”
“Nuremberg News”: “The foreign policy learner as a guest of the diplomacy professional: Annalena Baerbock did not do badly at the meeting with Moscow’s Foreign Minister Lavrov. The climate could have been frostier. What was discussed makes sense: a revival of the currently dead Normandy format – talks between Berlin, Paris, Kiev and Moscow on the Ukraine conflict.”
“Fulda Newspaper”: “Foreign policy miracles were not to be expected when Germany’s new chief diplomat, Annalena Baerbock, and Russia’s long-term minister, Sergey Lavrov, first met. The fact that the conversation between the 71-year-old and the 30-year-old lasted a good two hours is undoubtedly a good sign. An exchange of consistently incompatible maximum positions would have ended more quickly. It can be seen as a success for Baerbock that the Normandy format is given a new chance and Lavrov has agreed to another mediation talk with Germany and France. Here the young foreign minister acted credibly without fanfare and got the point at the end.”
“Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung”: “Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has a lot of fun belittling Western politicians. Remember his humiliation of the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell. That’s another reason why Annalena Baerbock’s trip to Moscow was a test by fire. Baerbock wasn’t even a member of the Green Party. Member when Lavrov became Russian Foreign Minister in 2004. Now she has shown that she is on an equal footing with him. In addition to the fact that all conflict issues were addressed with almost no escalation terms, this is Baerbock’s greatest success.”
Germany remains “second-tier mediator”
“Badish newspaper” (Freiburg): “First in Kiev and then in Moscow, the German foreign minister was left with nothing but giddiness. Yes, there was solidarity, Baerbock assured the Ukraine. But she had nothing except words. She agreed with her colleague in Moscow that “Dialogue is important and peace negotiations in the Ukraine conflict must be resumed. However, such talks are a chimera. Russia does not even officially see itself as part of the conflict. The soothing formula only whitewashes a contradiction that neither Germany, Europe nor the USA can resolve , but only a Russia that would come to its senses.”
“people’s voice” (Magdeburg): “After her mission to create peace without weapons in Kiev, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made her first visit to Moscow. She did it with decency, but nothing more. Just the vague prospect of new negotiations in the Normandy format brings the Green politician back to Berlin. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov remained stubborn and was not prepared to make any concessions to his country’s catalog of demands for Ukraine. As is so often the case, Germany is seen in this conflict as a mediator in the second row at most. The Europeans play as a whole for Moscow a subordinate role in the question of war and peace in Ukraine. The USA and NATO are decisive. Russia also hopes that the domestic political conditions in Ukraine, which were never particularly stable, will change. The returned ex-president Petro Poroshenko is the arch-rival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a power struggle between them would destroy Moscow benefit.”
“Stuttgarter News”: “Rarely has Germany’s foreign policy looked so helpless. In Moscow, a small mix of offers of talks and the vague threat of sanctions if Russia should expand its ongoing military aggression against Ukraine. In Kiev, a small mix of warm words and rejection Ukrainian desires for German weapons.
A foreign policy that likes to lecture the world and talks in moral categories, as long as there are no major disadvantages associated with it, corresponds to the majority opinion in Germany. Annalena Baerbock is not responsible for any of this. She has previously taken a clear stance against Russia’s arrogance to disregard the sovereignty of weaker states and to shift borders in Europe. But their inaugural visits to Kiev and Moscow show how narrow the scope is for the values offensive announced by Baerbock. In a field that is subject to the logic of interests, power and feasibility.”
Has Annalena Baerbock passed the baptism of fire?
“Central Bavarian Newspaper” (Regensburg): “Baerbock’s first trip to Moscow was a difficult one. The bottom line was that little came out of substance. But the Green politician at least managed to keep the important thread of the conversation tied and to have a de-escalating effect. Baerbock passed her baptism of fire “And that was not to be taken for granted in view of the Russian chief diplomat, who knows all the tricks. Lavrov has headed the Moscow foreign office for almost 18 years and has mastered all diplomatic tricks – including the lazy ones. Every little gap, every little difference within the West, within the EU and NATO, knows Lavrov very well and exploits this mercilessly.”
“Berlin newspaper”: “Baerbock didn’t want to be forced onto the playing field of the militarists. It offers Russia a real perspective. Even if in the end Realpolitik may sweep away all beautiful visions: You don’t necessarily always have to see Russia as a monolith of raw materials. You can see Russia also see it as part of the European cultural and natural landscape, which will play a decisive role for the world climate. This opens up a new path for Moscow to diversify its economy, which has been hollowed out by corruption. Germany and Russia are logical partners. If both agree to the new Open thinking, something meaningful can emerge. In the end, there might even be real peace.”
“OM Media” (Vechta/Cloppenburg): “The situation is tricky: Europe is dependent on Russia’s gas (…). The fact that Vladimir Putin sees Europe primarily as an economic partner – and not as a political opponent on an equal footing – is despite all the disagreements in the European Union only logical. And now Annalena Baerbock comes into play. The freshly appointed foreign minister is supposed to calm things down in the middle of the Ukraine conflict, but at the same time save her face as a representative of the West (…). It is therefore all the more astonishing that Baerbock “I was able to maintain dialogue with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. She has thus passed her baptism of fire in the East. Nevertheless, the path of the European Union to becoming a sovereign adversary to the Eastern powers remains a long one.”
“Badisches Tagblatt” (Baden-Baden): “In the Ukraine conflict, Baerbock is campaigning for the resumption of the Normandy format. If that succeeds, it would be a great success. Lavrov is more hesitant and only thinks a meeting makes sense if there is pressure from Paris and Berlin first on Kiev. The similarities end quickly. Germany and Russia are not coming together on this matter, but it is already a good sign if they are looking for dialogue. More is currently not possible because the view of the world is so diametrically different. “Nevertheless, it’s important to keep in touch. Perhaps common positions can be developed from this. Not today, not tomorrow, but at some point. You have to talk to each other, not just about each other. So the situation remains complicated even after Baerbock’s departure, the relationships remain frosty. But an initial visit alone cannot change that.”