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Maas: Want better relations with Russia
NOTE: This post will be broadcast without a narration. O-Ton Heiko Maas (SPD), Acting Foreign Minister: “Authoritarian states like Russia and China are putting the rule-based order, international law and universal human rights under increasing pressure. Hybrid threats and disinformation gnaw more at our open society than it does in the In the past, every case has been. And that’s why I say clearly: The Chinese system stands for autocratic values, by which we do not want to live in democratic states. This must also be shown in our politics. The immovable principle of any realistic German foreign policy remains: With our history, geography and economic weight we have a special responsibility for the future of the European Union and thus for the entire continent. And we have to live up to this responsibility with a sense of proportion. Not with hurray federalism or German teachings. Our goal must continue to be to hold the European Union together internally and to make it more confident on the outside. The perspectives of the Central and Eastern European member states must also be taken into account in a common European Eastern policy. With partners like Ukraine and Moldova and also with Belarus and Russia. And that’s why we want better relations with Russia. Yes, of course, they can only get better. And for that to happen, progress needs to be made, especially in resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, on the basis of the Minsk Agreement. Most recently, however, Russia has refused to meet Normandy format foreign ministers and the latest news of Russian troop movements in the border area with Ukraine is extremely worrying. These processes show that the ball for resolving existing contradictions lies in Moscow’s field. The European Union will continue to speak with one voice, I am firmly convinced of that. “
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has expressed concern about the situation on the border between Ukraine and Russia.