Berlin, or rather Germany’s new Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has finally begun using the proper language to describe the current international stand-off between East and West over Ukraine’s fate.
On Feb. 18 the minister tweeted on the Twitter page of the German Foreign Ministry:
“With its massive troop deployment, Russia is making an absolutely unacceptable threat. Against Ukraine. But also towards all of us and our peace architecture in Europe. This crisis is therefore not a Ukraine crisis. It is a Russia crisis.”
Representing the German Greens in the new coalition, Baerbock has consistently taken a firmer stance towards Russia’s menacing behavior and been more openly supportive of Ukraine than her colleagues from the Social Democrats (SPD) and their new German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz.
This does not mean that he has managed to get things entirely in the way that she and her party would like in the external sphere – coalitions entail compromises – but she is undoubtedly having an impact on the tone and delivery of Berlin’s foreign policy.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (C) talk with designated Munich Security Conference Chairman Christoph Heusgen (R) during a moderated discussion at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on February 18, 2022. – During the 58th Munich Security Conference running from February 18-20, 2022, international diplomats and experts meet to discuss topics such as global order, human and transnational security, defense or sustainability. (Photo by THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP)
On Feb.18 Baerbock delivered an important speech at the Munich Security Forum in the alongside U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken in which she elaborated Berlin’s view of what is at stake and what is required.
Here are the key excerpts.
“The choice we as Europeans are faced with, the choice between a system of joint responsibility for security and peace that is based on the Helsinki Founding Act and the Paris Charter that we all have signed, or a system of power rivalry and spheres of influence, for which the Yalta Conference of 1945 was standing. And for me, and I believe for every single one in this room, this is the key question because what is at issue for us Europeans and the international community, that is not just a question how we are going to resolve the current crisis, it is the question of how we’re going to stand up for our rules-based order in the future, an order that is based on the charter of the United Nations, on the principles of self-determination, the respect of freedom and human rights, and the principle of international cooperation….”
“As far as I’m concerned, three elements are key: determination, solidarity, and reliability. This applies to the Russia crisis, but also beyond. We are determined with a view to the actions and measures that we’re preparing in the event of Russia acting against Ukraine. These sanctions are – or would be unprecedented and have been coordinated with all our partners and have been prepared with them. We in Germany are ready to pay a high price for that in economic terms. That is why all options are on the table – also Nord Stream 2….”
“We show solidarity because we support and are committed to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and I’m being very clear here. Especially in situations of pressure like these, solidarity means to send out a clear message because the route that a country would like to embark on is – can only be determined by the country itself and by the people living there. We are not going to negotiate over the head of Ukraine. Solidarity means that we take the concerns of our neighbors in Central and Eastern European seriously. That is why we’re strengthening our NATO commitment together…”
“Solidarity also means, however – and that’s very important to me because foreign policy is not just some kind of policy between politicians, not just traveling forwards and backwards between the capitals of countries. Foreign policy is about the people, our people. And that is why solidarity means, in the current situation, not just showing solidarity with Kyiv but also with the people in Ukraine, and especially with the people that live close to the line of contact. And here, OSCE is decisive because they’re observers are our eyes and ears there. We have to ensure together that they can effectively do their job, especially now, where violence along the line of contact has dramatically increased over the past 48 hours…”
“Now, this is one of the most dangerous moments, where provocation and disinformation might turn into escalation. I am being very clear here. This is a game that we’re not going to play. Quite on the contrary. With all our efforts we work on finding constructive solutions from the – of the crisis, in the Normandy Format, in the EU, and in NATO. Every step in the direction of peace is laborious. We’re fighting for every single millimeter, but every millimeter is better than no movement at all….”
“Reliability in foreign policy that is based on clear values. What is at stake for the people in Ukraine is their right of freedom, their right to determine their own future. And for all of us, what is at stake is nothing less than peace in Europe and the question whether or not we’re going to defend our rules-based order, even if it comes through the crunch. We live in world in which this rules-based order is not just coming under pressure in Eastern Europe. We’re faced with growing geopolitical tensions, with a competition between authoritarian forces and liberal democracies. We see and realize that if we withdraw from this competition as liberal democracies, then others are going to fill these gaps. We can see that with private groups of mercenaries or with a view of the large infrastructural project in Africa.
But we’ve also been seeing that in Europe, in the EU, when we left a gap in terms of solidarity when it was about investing in power grids, motorways, or digital infrastructure. And we even saw that even more strongly at the beginning of this pandemic when it was about the distribution of vaccines. If others interfere, then this will not happen for altruistic motives, but this will be based on true geostrategic calculation.
That is why, as far as I’m concerned, we as liberal democracies have to be a part of this competition between liberal forces and authoritarian forces. We have to clearly walk the talk and show what we stand for. The joint recovery after the pandemic, what has been summarized by the U.S. President Biden and also the United Nations under this wonderful label of Build Back Better – what has been defined there also spells out a huge opportunity for all of us, for the international – for international cooperation to really do it right when exiting from this crisis: to invest in a solution for the Ukraine crisis, to invest together in infrastructure, but also to invest together in finding a way out of this pandemic.
And that is why the German G7 presidency that we’re holding this year also will focus on this motto. We’re going to show what our values are. We show that international cooperation is stronger than national solo efforts. And we show that an order on the basis of international law, of a fair coexistence and togetherness, of democracy and human rights will bring more than shutting borders down and then bringing in the borders internationally…”
“And this is something, one insight that I brought back home when I was at the line of contact, because the mother said only if women are safe, everyone will be safe. And that is our task and that is why I’m convinced that our global challenges, like the climate crisis, fighting the pandemic, will not be manageable for a single country alone. We can only resolve this crisis together with a clear compass of values. We have to be aware of that. We are right in the middle of a difficult crisis, especially here in Europe, being transatlantic parties. After this crisis, the world will be a different one and it’s now up to us. It’s in our hands. This is the hour to stand up for peace and rights here in Europe.”
Read the full text of Baerbock’s speech and discussion here.
