Crisis diplomacy over Russia
US Secretary of State Blinken comes to Germany
01/18/2022, 09:09 am
US Secretary of State Blinken is coming to Berlin on Thursday to discuss the threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine with Chancellor Scholz and Secretary of State Baerbock. There is a dissent between the federal government and the USA with regard to the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline.
According to information from RTL and ntv, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected in Berlin this Thursday. The program includes talks with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and her counterpart Annalena Baerbock. In addition, it is planned that he will give a speech.
The overriding theme of the visit will be the threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine. In view of a massive Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine, the West fears that Russia is preparing to invade the neighboring country. The Kremlin categorically denies this. There is a dissent between the federal government and the USA with regard to the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. The SPD in particular wants to keep the gas pipeline out of the dispute with Russia.
Crisis diplomacy has been in full swing for days. Baerbock is meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow today, and the primary focus will also be on the Ukraine conflict. At the meeting, Baerbock wants to promote Russia’s continued involvement in efforts to resolve the crisis. There had been a series of international talks in the past week, but without a breakthrough. Baerbock met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday.
Federal government relies on diplomacy
The FDP foreign expert Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said in the “early start” of ntv that the path of diplomacy must be continued as long as possible. “When diplomats are successful, soldiers are not deployed. That’s why we should hope that they are successful,” said Lambsdorff. But he also dampened expectations ahead of Baerbock’s visit to Moscow: “It’s an inaugural visit and you shouldn’t exaggerate the meeting. This visit will not end the tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border.”
Lambsdorff defended the foreign minister’s statement that she would not supply arms to Ukraine. According to the foreign expert, Baerbock would thus reflect the position of the traffic light coalition. “German law is very clear, we are not allowed to deliver weapons to crisis areas. That was also reaffirmed in the coalition agreement.”