During its first days in office, the new German government coalition has immediately had to face up to the challenges posed by an aggressive Russia and the victim of its bullying – Ukraine.
The former government headed by Angela Merkel had sought to tread a tactful line towards Moscow, which critics increasingly described as amounting to appeasement. Indeed, Kyiv this week even accused Berlin of having vetoed the supply of weapons from the EU.
Germany’s new leaders are therefore having to quickly reposition themselves and fall in line with their western partners.
Germany’s new foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, from the Greens, who has taken a tough stance towards Moscow, reaffirmed Berlin’s support for Ukraine amid growing fears of a Russian invasion, on Dec. 14.
She told reporters that in a telephone call on the previous day with the Ukrainian foreign minister,
“I made it very clear that not only Germany but also the EU and the G7, stand behind Ukraine in full solidarity.“
She also emphasized in the call, “that de-escalation is the most important thing right now especially for Ukraine security and that's why I am urgently calling for a return to the Normandy format.”
Baerbock said she had also “kept making it very clear over the past few days that aggressive action by Russia would have massive economic and diplomatic consequences.”
German-Russian relations were further strained on Dec. 15 on the day that the new Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed the German parliament for the first time.
A Berlin court sentenced a Russian citizen, Vadim Krasikov to life in prison for the murder of a Chechen of Georgian nationality in August 2019. Prosecutors believed the killing was ordered by Russian state security and the judge concurred.
Following the verdict, the German foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador and informed him that two of his embassy staff would be expelled. Baerbock described the killing as "murder by state contract" that severely violated German law and Germany's sovereignty.
The foreign minister said she had spoken with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and emphasized that Berlin "wants and needs" to have an open and honest dialogue with Moscow. But that
“This needs to be based on the international law and mutual respect.“
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Sakharova promptly stated that Berlin's "unfriendly stance" would be met with an "appropriate response." Scholz, whose Social Democratic Party (SPD) has traditionally taken a softer approach towards Moscow. Backed her. He commented that it was "completely right that the foreign minister had responded with a clear answer."
Addressing the Bundestag against this heightened tension, the chancellor acknowledged that, “These days we are also looking with great concern at the security situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border” and that this issue would be discussed “in depth” at the European Council’s Eastern Partnership summit scheduled for Dec. 16 in Brussels.
"We will underscore again that the inviolability of borders is an important basis for peace in Europe, and that together we will do everything that this inviolability endures," Scholz said before the summit.
The German leader left for the Belgian capital straight after addressing the Bundestag. There, that same day, he met with, among others President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron
As DW reported, “Russian antagonism on the Ukraine border” was expected to dominate the agenda in Brussels.
