The German Foreign Ministry falls into the depths of diplomacy. Ukraine demands weapons from Berlin. Moscow insists on security guarantees. Will the dialogue with the West continue?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is an experienced “heavyweight” diplomat. When he deems it appropriate, he insults his guest even when the cameras are open. Will she attempt it tomorrow, Tuesday, January 18, when German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock pays her maiden visit to Moscow? German-Russian relations are currently as frozen as the Russian winter. And it would undoubtedly be a great success if Russia said it was willing to continue the dialogue with the West, which began last week in Geneva. Burbok knows very well what awaits her. “Especially in times of crisis, diplomacy needs strong nerves,” he said before embarking on the difficult journey.
Before leaving this morning, he reiterated that “we are ready for a serious dialogue on mutual agreements and steps that will bring more security to Europe and Russia, but we can not and will not make concessions on basic principles, such as inviolability of borders. “the free choice of a defense alliance and the denunciation of the threat of violence as a means of politics.”
“It is not the Bible”
The first stop today, however, is Kiev. The German Foreign Minister from the Green Party wants to show her support for the country, which has a large mobilization of Russian troops on its eastern border. He will meet with Ukrainian President Vladmir Zhelensky and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. Ukrainian Ambassador to Berlin Andrig Melnik asked Burbok to agree to his country’s request for weapons. “The caution and even the refusal of military aid by Burbok and the whole German government is causing bitterness and frustration,” the Ukrainian diplomat told the German news agency DPA. “Ukraine knows that in the coalition agreement of the new three-party government there is a commitment to a restrictive arms export policy in crisis areas, but this political document is not the Bible, the world is in great danger, a huge war in the heart of Europe, of “worse than 1945. Ukraine has the sacred right to self-defense.”
Ukraine has long asked Germany for weapons to defend itself in the event of a Russian attack, but has found no response from Berlin. During the election campaign, Robert Habek, the current Minister of Finance, Energy and Climate Protection, visiting Ukraine, said that the country could be given “defense weapons”. Since then, nothing has been heard about it. Tonight Burbok is going to Moscow. The situation is complicated, because Russia is asking for more or less security guarantees that would lead to the creation of a new zone of Russian influence with Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. For the West, this is simply non-negotiable.
“Putin’s key to resolving the crisis“
So before her trip to Moscow tonight, Marie-Agnes Strak-Zimmermann, chairwoman of the Liberal Party from the Liberal Party, advised Burbock to show a tough stance. “Putin wants to go back to the Cold War era, when the world was divided into two blocs,” he told AFP. “He follows his grandiose fantasies when at the same time the majority of the population lives in poverty. He understands only crystal clear messages including the possible consequences, he tests how far he can go,… he challenges at all levels.” Marie Demoulen from the European Council on Foreign Relations is of the opinion that the more vague the Russian president’s specific goals, the clearer his strategy is that he is unpredictable. “He wants to put as much pressure as possible,” he told AFP. “In this way it seeks to extract concessions from the West.”
It is clear to Dumoulin that the key to resolving the crisis lies in Putin’s hands. “Whether or not the talks (with the West) continue will ultimately be decided by Putin, no one knows at this time what direction he will take.” Thus the bar for the success of the Berbok mission is in the continuation of the dialogue with Moscow. Because as long as there is dialogue going on, the guns are silent. At least Berlin is betting on that.
Irini Anastassopoulou /afp / dpa
Source: Deutsche Welle
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Source From: Capital
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