Monday 17 January 2022
Minister defines red lines
Baerbock: Ready for dialogue and hard reaction
The conflict between Moscow and the West appears deadlocked. Foreign Minister Baerbock wants to speak to President Selenskyj in Ukraine. In Russia, it is a matter of sounding out the will to find a diplomatic solution.
Before leaving for her first visits to Kiev and Moscow, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock advocated a diplomatic solution to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. “We are ready for a serious dialogue about mutual agreements and steps that will bring more security to everyone in Europe, including Russia,” she said in Berlin. But one is “determined to react if Russia instead takes the path of escalation”. No compromises could be made on basic principles such as territorial inviolability, the free choice of alliances and the renunciation of the threat of violence.
Western countries are alarmed by Russian troops near Ukraine. Russia, on the other hand, sees itself threatened by NATO and is therefore demanding an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and, in particular, that Ukraine should not be admitted.
Immediately after her arrival in Kiev, Baerbock wants to meet German representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observer mission there. Consultations with President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and her counterpart Dmytro Kuleba are then planned.
What is possible with Moscow?
Talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, in Moscow. “I want to find out on the spot whether there is a willingness to find solutions through diplomatic channels – above all, to breathe life into the Normandy process again and finally make progress in implementing the Minsk agreements,” emphasized Baerbock.
Shortly before their visit, the Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, had urged Baerbock to promise Kiev the delivery of weapons for national defense. The reluctance or rejection of arms aid is “very frustrating and bitter,” he said.
In Ukraine, Baerbock’s skepticism about the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline should be particularly welcome. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the other hand, sees it as a private-sector project and has described the approval process as purely apolitical. Ukraine fears that its gas transit network, which has long been fundamental to Europe’s energy security, could fade into insignificance. The Russian gas giant Gazprom has already drastically reduced throughput volumes in recent years. The federal government has promised help with the future use of the network and has also discussed feeding it with hydrogen. Ukraine, however, is skeptical.
Because of the attention paid to the Ukraine conflict, the West, which is also always concerned about basic freedoms, sometimes overlooks the fact that Zelenskyy is opening up additional fronts domestically. With a view to his intended re-election in spring 2024, to Moscow’s displeasure, he had five of the pro-Russian television stations close to the opposition closed and two news websites blocked. One of the main protagonists of the Moscow-oriented forces, MP Viktor Medvedchuk, a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was sidelined on a treason trial and has been under house arrest for months.