“Because diplomacy is the only viable way,” said the Green politician on Monday, referring to Ukrainian fears of an attack by Russia. “We have staying power,” she emphasized. Germany is ready for dialogue with Russia.
With a view to Ukrainian demands for German arms deliveries, Baerbock said that it was important not to allow the crisis to escalate any further, but to solve it with diplomatic means. At the same time, the politician emphasized that “any further aggression would have a great price for the Russian regime”.
The EU and the US have threatened severe sanctions in the event of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine. Baerbock advocated revitalizing the so-called Normandy format to resolve the conflict. Germany and France mediate in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Baerbock announced that she would soon visit the contact line in the Donbass conflict area with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to get an idea of the situation there. The situation there is “more than depressing”, especially now in winter, she said after a conversation with the Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Kiev. Baerbock said: “We need progress in implementing the Minsk agreement.”
A peace plan agreed in Minsk (Belarus) is on hold. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of violating the agreement. According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed separatists in Donbass since 2014. The EU and the USA, among others, have imposed sanctions on Russia because of the Ukraine conflict.
With a view to a major cyber attack on the Ukrainian government’s website, Baerbock offered to provide experts from the Federal Office for Information Security for support and reconnaissance. Russia has denied allegations of having anything to do with the hacker attack.