German foreign minister criticises government for hesitation in supporting Ukraine
Pravda Ukraine
Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister and co-leader of the Green Party, has criticised her government for its hesitancy in supporting Ukraine. She has also condemned past administrations for policies that, according to her, contributed to dependence on Russia.
Source: Politico
Details: Baerbock said that the current government’s indecision on military aid to Ukraine is eroding the trust of European allies. She stressed that the government must act more swiftly, particularly in approving the €3 billion aid package, which she has strongly supported.
Quote: “Germany as a whole isn’t currently seen as a driving force for peace policy in Europe, and honestly that pains me,” Baerbock emphasised, adding that populist sentiment ahead of elections is obstructing strategic decision-making.
She also criticised previous governments, especially the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) under Angela Merkel, for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which, according to her, had contributed to Germany’s energy dependence on Russia. Baerbock also mentioned suspicions of Russia’s involvement in damaging underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.
Quote: “Just as Nord Stream 2 was never purely an economic project – despite what the CDU and SPD long wanted to believe – it’s also no coincidence that undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea keep getting damaged,” Baerbock said.
The minister also called for defence spending to be increased to over 2% of GDP, noting that in times of crisis, this could even rise to 3%.
US President-elect Donald Trump has previously stated that he wants NATO members to spend 5% of their GDP on defence – more than double the current Alliance target. He has referred to Germany as a “debtor” regarding defence spending and has threatened to withdraw US protection from NATO countries that fail to meet the required defence spending levels.
Background:
- On 14 January, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced that the German government had prepared the necessary steps to provide Ukraine with an additional €3 billion in military aid. However, discussions are still ongoing.
- Earlier, German newspaper Spiegel reported that a dispute had emerged within the German government over an additional weapons package for Ukraine, valued at around €3 billion.
- Later, Pistorius denied reports claiming that Chancellor Scholz was blocking the additional €3 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
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