Steinmeier after unloading: bear the burden of solidarity with Ukraine
Steinmeier in a speech in Warsaw.
(dpa) After the cancellation of his planned visit, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier campaigned for solidarity with Ukraine. “It’s about sanctions, the toughest that Europe has ever decided to persuade Putin to put an end to violence and to respect Ukraine’s independence,” said Steinmeier on Wednesday at an exhibition opening in the Jewish Museum Berlin after the advance common speech text. “Sanctions that have noticeable consequences and hardships for us. Solidarity also means being willing to bear the burden.”
Steinmeier referred to Enlightenment values on which modern liberal democracies were founded. “We know that we have these values, that we must never take our democracy for granted.” This is made painfully clear again by the Russian attack on Ukraine. “I am shocked by the cruelty of the attackers, the untold suffering and destruction they are bringing to Ukraine, the terrible crimes committed against the civilian population.”
For Steinmeier, the aid is not just about the more than 400,000 people who have found refuge and accommodation in Germany, according to him. “It’s about more than that: it’s also about supporting those who are bravely fighting the Russian attackers, with protective equipment and, yes, also with weapons!”
Germany ends military training in Mali
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock with Abdoulaye Diop, Foreign Minister of Mali, in Bamako.
suk./(dpa) Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has suspended German participation in the EU training mission EUTM. As long as the country works closely with Russian actors, Germany can no longer take part in the EU mission that trains Malian armed forces, said Baerbock on Wednesday (April 13) in Mali’s capital, Bamako. However, Germany wants to continue to support the people in Mali affected by terrorism and other crises. Around 300 Bundeswehr soldiers were last involved in the training operation.
The EU announced on Monday that it would initially dissolve the military training mission in the West African crisis country. “We are ending the training missions for the army and the national guard,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell after a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. France and several partners had already announced this step in February – also because the current transitional government is working with Russian mercenaries.
Chancellor Scholz criticizes Steinmeier’s unloading by Kyiv
Chancellor Scholz did not say whether he himself would accept the existing invitation to Kyiv.
(dpa) Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has criticized Ukraine’s uninviting of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as “somewhat irritating”. “The Federal President would have liked to go to Ukraine,” Scholz said on Wednesday on rbb’s Inforadio. “That’s why it would have been good to receive him.”
Scholz did not answer the question of whether he himself would accept the existing invitation to Kyiv. After the rejection of Steinmeier, the Ukraine had invited the chancellor to Kyiv. Such a visit should be about how Germany can help Ukraine with heavy weapons in the fight against Russia, said the Ukrainian ambassador Andri Melnik on ProSieben and SAT.1.
Ukraine is demanding heavy weapons such as battle tanks, artillery pieces and air defense systems from Germany. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) has spoken out in favor of the delivery of heavy weapons, while Chancellor Scholz has so far been reluctant to answer relevant questions.
Rainbow flag may be flown at federal buildings
The rainbow flag is a symbol of tolerance – but for many it is also a stumbling block.
suk. In the future, the rainbow flag may be hoisted in front of federal buildings on certain occasions. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser gave permission on Wednesday (April 13) to set “such a visible sign of the state for diversity and against any discrimination”. “We are a modern and diverse country. It is high time that we show this more clearly as state institutions, »explained the SPD politician.
According to the ministry, the reason for setting the rainbow flag must be a specific date such as Christopher Street Day (CSD) or another local or regional event such as Pride Week. The affixing of the rainbow flag is also permitted, for example, in entrance areas and inner courtyards as well as on the facades of federal buildings, provided that other legal regulations do not conflict with this, writes the Ministry of the Interior.
Traffic light politicians call for a rapid oil embargo
The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth, at a current hour on the Ukraine war in the Bundestag.
suk./(Reuters) After their surprise visit to Ukraine, three Bundestag committee chairmen called for further measures against Russia from Germany and the EU. “The EU should impose an oil embargo on Russia as soon as possible,” said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth (SPD), on Tuesday evening (April 12). “That would be a very important signal because it affects Russia’s main source of income.” A quick EU decision could be combined with a transition phase like the import ban on Russian coal.
Roth, together with the Chair of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), and the Chair of the Europe Committee, Anton Hofreiter (Greens), traveled to western Ukraine on Tuesday for a meeting with Ukrainian parliamentarians and later in the evening returned to Poland. Strack-Zimmermann and Hofreiter also called for an oil embargo as quickly as possible. “It can be done within a few weeks because there are other suppliers,” said Hofreiter. “The coal embargo decided by the EU also provides for a transition phase that is far too long and must be implemented more quickly. Otherwise we will continue to finance Putin’s war machine,” added the Green politician. The federal government believes that it is possible to phase out Russian oil by the end of the year. In a joint statement by the three traffic light politicians, they also demand that Germany take on even more responsibility. This also included further arms deliveries and a clear EU perspective for Ukraine.