What it came to: the Germans persuade the Russians not to attack the Ukrainians. So gloomy jokes were made in Ukraine during the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and then during the negotiations on Donbass. Unfortunately, now it is relevant again, which was also shown by the first visit of the new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Kiev and Moscow. The task is to prevent a new war. The special tension before the trip was connected not only with the Russian troops drawn up to the Ukrainian border and the threats to the West from the Russian Federation.
There were so many expectations about a possible verbal confrontation between Burbock and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov! Will the seasoned career diplomat cast his much younger and less foreign-policy-savvy German counterpart in a bad light, as he did last year with European diplomat Josep Borrell? Will there be an exchange of accusations between them, as with Burbock’s predecessor Heiko Maas? Will Burbock speak to Lavrov in the same harsh tone as she did on the talk show?
Burbock follows Merkel’s footsteps
Surprisingly none of this happened. At a joint press conference on Tuesday, January 18, in Moscow, Burbock went for a verbal disarmament, emphasized the commonality of the parties in matters of culture and business, confidently and calmly conveyed her political messages. She called for dialogue and diplomacy in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and did not avoid criticism of Russian domestic politics. Thus, Burbock mentioned, albeit in passing, the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is serving time in a colony, and the human rights organization Memorial, recently closed by a court decision.
Roman Goncharenko
Especially pleasant for Lavrov, apparently, were her words that Germany would continue to need Russian gas. The issue of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which Burbock criticized while in opposition, the minister skillfully avoided, pointing to the coalition agreement of the parties that formed the government of Germany, and European energy rules. This makes sense, because after all, Burbock wants to establish a dialogue with the Russians.
Her speech in Moscow strongly resembled the style of the previous German chancellor, Angela Merkel, towards Russia: business-like, respectful, but with clear criticism. This deserves recognition. Lavrov, in turn, refrained from his usual barbs, echoed the Kremlin’s well-known position and signaled a readiness to improve relations with Berlin, which have recently sunk to a low point. Obviously, Moscow is not interested in immediately risking relations with the new federal government.
Burbock awaits shuttle diplomacy
Contrary to expectations, the current trip to Kiev and Moscow did not become a real, as the German media wrote, “baptism of fire” for Burbock – she has yet to do it. But the visits were in any case the start of traditional shuttle diplomacy. In the coming days, the head of the German Foreign Ministry is going to go to Ukraine together with his French counterpart, this time to the east to the actual front line. She then wants to resume Normandy Format meetings. Burbock has now laid the foundation for this path, and one can only hope that she succeeds.
Perhaps the memory of history would help her. Both in Ukraine and in Russia, the foreign minister referred to the dark pages of the German past, associated with crimes against Ukrainians and Russians. In Kiev, it was precisely this that she justified another refusal to Ukraine’s request for the supply of German weapons. This is the right decision. Germany should put more economic pressure on Russia, and not supply arms to Kiev, which would be a gift for Russian propaganda.
In the future, Ukraine will rightly point out more and more often that Germany’s responsibility for the Nazi crimes against all the peoples of the USSR concerns not only Moscow, but also Kiev. In other words: out of historical responsibility, Berlin must be more active. Perhaps the Germans are really the only ones who can keep Russia from going to war with Ukraine.
Author: Roman Goncharenko, DW columnist
This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author. It may not coincide with the opinion of the Russian editors and Deutsche Welle in general.
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