The new German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock sought to reassure a
nervous Ukraine that she will not allow germany to compromise on the basic
principles of ukraine's territorial sovereignty when she meets the russian
foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov in Moscow for the first time on tuesday.
Russia has begun moving troops to ukraine's northern neighbor Belarus for
joint military exercises, in a move likely to increase fears in the west
that moscow is preparing for an invasion. The joint military exercises named
united resolve are to take place as Russia also musters forces along
Ukraine's eastern border, threatening a potential invasion that could
unleash the largest conflict in europe for decades.
Social media videos from Belarus appeared to show artillery and other
military vehicles arriving on flatbed carriages owned by the Russian state
railway company and Alexander Volkovic, the head of Belarus's security
council, said in a briefing that troops were already arriving before
exercise is scheduled for february.
Some military analysts have suggested russia could send its forces through
Belarus in the case of a broad invasion, effectively stretching out
ukraine's defenses by taking advantage of the two countries nearly 700 mile
border. Others believe belarus would not play a serious role in the conflict
if Russia were to launch an attack on Ukraine.
The Belarusian Leader Alexander Lukashenko has responded to international
pressure and isolation by strengthening ties with Russia, giving vocal
support for putin's military buildup as he receives diplomatic and economic
support from the Kremlin to battle western sanctions.
He has also abandoned his country's supposedly neutral stance on the ukraine
conflict and publicly endorsed russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. "The
exercises are to be held in the west of belarus near the borders of NATO
members poland and lithuania and its southern flank with Ukraine,"
Lukashenko said.
Reports from Russia have also shown more military equipment, including tanks
and short-range ballistic missiles being transported across the country
toward ukraine within the last week.
The german foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said before a meeting
with her russian counterpart on tuesday that she hoped the tensions could be
resolved by diplomacy but if not moscow would pay a high price for
aggressive acts toward Ukraine.
No concrete troop numbers or time frame have been named for the joint russia
belarus exercises, which putin announced during a summit with lukashenko in
late december.
Lukashenko said on monday that the exact dates in february were still being
determined. He said during the briefing that the exercises were needed
because of the presence of NATO forces in neighboring poland and the Baltic
states as well as ukraine's deployment of troops to the border in response
to the migrant crisis that he helped create last year.
Germany has reaffirmed its commitment to support ukraine's sovereignty and
territorial integrity. The new german foreign minister Annalena
Baerbock sought to reassure a nervous ukraine that she will not allow
germany to compromise on the basic principles of ukraine's territorial
sovereignty when she meets the russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov in
Moscow for the first time on tuesday.
As reported by the Guardian, Baerbock a member of the green party set on a
visit to kiev she was ready for serious dialogue with russia about mutual
security, but was not willing to backtrack on basic principles such as
territorial inviolability, the free choice of alliances and the renunciation
of the threat of violence.
She said moscow which has mass troops on Ukraine's borders, would suffer if
it launched an attack. each further aggressive act will have a high price
for russia, economically, strategically, politically. diplomacy is the only
way, she told a news conference with her ukrainian counterpart, Dimitra
Coleba.
According to the guardian her visit is being watched rarely by European, UK
and US for signs that germany may revert to its traditional role of seeking
independent dialogue with russia in preference to firmness.
Baerbock is seen as part of younger generation of German politicians
strongly committed to projecting human rights and foreign policy and
determined to take Germany away from its historic willingness to compromise
with Moscow. But the spd-led german chancellery is thought less inclined to
break with the policy of the former german chancellor Angela Merkel.
It will be deeply frustrating for some other western states if Germany
continues to act as a drag anchor as Europe and the us have been making
strenuous efforts to present united front inside NATO.
Her visit comes after three high-level diplomatic meetings last week ended
with russian troops still on ukraine's borders, but no definitive sign
whether Putin would risk a military incursion or instead start talks with
the US about arms control in Europe. A more limited agenda than his call for
a redrawing of the security architecture of europe.
Parts of the eastern ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk have been
controlled by pro-russian separatists since 2014. Despite the mints peace
plan negotiated under Franco-German mediation, the conflict continues and
the terms for elections in the regions are disputed.
Baerbock said in kiev she would explore in moscow if there could be a return
to the four-way normandy format negotiations with Russia, Ukraine, Germany
and France that have been on hold for a long time. There has been talk the
us may join the talks to restore some energy into them.
"I want to find out on the ground 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," she said.
"The most effective lever we have to back ukraine is the unanimous
commitment of the EU. The G7 and nader that any further aggression would
come at a high price for the russian regime and we mean that very
seriously," she said.
"No country has the right to dictate to other countries which direction they
may take which relationships they may have in which alliances they may enter
into. Ukraine sovereignty cannon will never be subject of negotiations," she
added.
She rejected calls for germany to supply arms to ukraine, citing a
historical responsibility for germany not to export weapons to conflict
zones. But said Berlin was willing to provide technical expertise to help
ukraine defend itself from cyber attack.
