After a day of heavy threats and diplomatic whirlwinds, the US and Russia have agreed to hold fresh talks on the Ukraine crisis. According to the State Department in Washington, the foreign ministers of the two countries will meet in Geneva on Friday. This was preceded by new, serious threats, including for the first time Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who threatened the consequences of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the event of an attack on Ukraine.
The talks between the US and Russia were arranged after a phone call between Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Blinken. After Russia rejected any talks a week ago, it is now interpreted by Moscow as a concession. German diplomacy has also worked intensively to resolve the crisis. Chancellor Scholz was the first to speak sharply of Russian demands: “It is clear that there will be high costs and that everything should be discussed if there is a military intervention against Ukraine,” he said in Berlin on Tuesday, asking whether the pipeline will be subject to punitive measures. So far, Scholz had reacted extremely safely to calls threatening to end Nord Stream 2.
In Moscow, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock (Greens) said in a meeting with her Russian ally Lavrov that Germany had “no choice but to defend our common rules, even if it comes at a high economic cost.” ” He campaigned for Germany and France to resume talks between Russia and Ukraine in the so-called Normandy format. The implementation of the Minsk Agreement to settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine is a major point of contention between Moscow and Kiev. Lavrov accused Ukraine of not fulfilling its obligations. Barrock said there were differing views on the situation on the ground.
Chancellor Scholz demanded that Russia begin withdrawing troops from the border with Ukraine. “We expect Russia to de-escalate the situation. This could include, for example, the reduction of troops on the Ukrainian border,” he said. Any Russian offensive against Ukraine would have dire consequences. With colleagues, you are preparing to “be able to respond quickly and accurately.” He continued to deny the delivery of German weapons to Ukraine. “The German federal government has been adopting a similar strategy on this issue for many years. And that includes not exporting lethal weapons,” he said. Britain is currently supplying light anti-tank weapons.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit both Kiev and Berlin ahead of their Geneva meeting. In Germany, he will speak to the foreign ministers of France and Great Britain with Bairbock. The US State Department said the meeting in Geneva was about finding out whether Russia wanted to continue on the path of diplomacy.
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