Saturday, December 11th, 2021
Don’t just talk about Russia
Baerbock makes a request to the G7
In Liverpool, the new German Foreign Minister Baerbock will meet her G7 counterparts for the first time. The meeting is mainly about Russia and China, but the Green politician also called for another topic to be discussed.
In Liverpool, Germany’s new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on the foreign ministers of the G7 countries to speak about the significance of the climate crisis for peace and security. “We can give ourselves the illusion that the west is an island, but even on this the water will continue to rise inexorably if we don’t act now,” she said. The G7 foreign ministers would have to “talk about the climate crisis and what effects it has in the area of peace and security – for the emerging and developing countries particularly affected, but also directly for us in Europe,” emphasized Baerbock. Dealing with the climate crisis together will also be one of the priorities of the German G7 Presidency from January next year.
In the northern English city she also met for the first time in her new role with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and her British counterpart Liz Truss for talks. The meeting of foreign ministers will primarily focus on the relations of the seven industrialized countries with China and Russia. Any incursion into Ukrainian territory by Russia would be “a strategic mistake” and would have “serious consequences,” declared Blinken and Truss. In addition to Germany, the USA and Great Britain, Canada, France, Italy and Japan are also members of the G7.
At their last personal meeting before Germany took over the G7 presidency, the foreign ministers want to send out a signal against “aggressors against freedom”. “This weekend the most influential democracies in the world will take a stand against aggressors who want to undermine freedom,” said the British hostess Liz Truss. A “clear message” should be sent out that “we are a united front”.
Baerbock speaks with Blinken and Truss
According to the information, the massive Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine is at the top of the list of topics for the meeting, which will last until Sunday. Other topics include dealing with China, Iran’s nuclear aspirations and the crisis in Myanmar, which is led by the military junta. At the start of the meeting, British Foreign Minister Truss emphasized that she wanted the G7 countries to deepen their relations in the areas of trade, investment, technology and security “in order to defend and promote freedom and democracy worldwide”.
Truss met with Baerbock and her US colleague Antony Blinken on Friday evening, who then both met bilaterally. Blinken’s spokesman, Ned Price, said after speaking with Baerbock that the two had talked about “support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression” and agreed that “if Moscow escalates, a strong reaction will be required” may be.
Before the start of the G7 meeting, Baerbock declared that the group shared “common values - democracy, human rights, the commitment to an international order based on rules and not on the law of the strongest.” It is necessary to stand up for them and, if necessary, to defend them. Therefore, “Russia and the Russian military movements in the border area with Ukraine” and the relationship with China should also be discussed.