If tensions continue to escalate near Ukraine’s borders, Moscow should face serious “diplomatic and economic consequences,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday, January 5, at her first meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington. …
Speaking about the upcoming talks between the United States and Russia on the conflict over Ukraine on January 10 in Geneva, Berbock stressed that there can be “no decisions on security in Europe without (participation in these negotiations. – Ed.) Europe “.
“The United States is the closest partner of the EU, our transatlantic ties are the key to peace and security. We have agreed on close cooperation with regard to Russia. There is no alternative to dialogue,” the German Foreign Minister wrote on her Twitter microblog, thanking the US Washington “.
Discrepancies between the United States and Germany on the issue of arms supplies to Kiev
In turn, Blinken assured that Washington, as well as Berlin, sees in Russia’s actions “an immediate and urgent challenge to peace and stability in Europe.” At the same time, the United States intends to continue to continue deliveries of defensive weapons to Ukraine, and in the event of Russian aggression, they are ready to increase such deliveries.
In this, Berlin’s position differs from the American one: they still do not consider the possibility of exporting weapons to Ukraine. Germany helped Ukraine build a military hospital, Berbock said.
Nord Stream 2
In addition, the meeting participants touched upon the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. According to Blinken, it is difficult to imagine that “the gas will flow, that the gas pipeline will be put into operation if Russia resumes its military aggression against Ukraine.” As Berbock pointed out, if Russia uses energy as a weapon, Berlin and its EU partners “will jointly take effective measures against it.”
EU position and RF requirements
On the same day, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that any discussions on European security should include the EU and Ukraine. “There is no security in Europe without the security of Ukraine,” Borrell stressed when he visited the demarcation line in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements with NATO and the United States on “security guarantees.” The Russian Federation demands from the North Atlantic Alliance to abandon the expansion to the east and any military activity in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
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