The Green politician Annalena Baerbock met her French counterpart in Paris.
(Photo: AP)
Paris In the worsening conflict in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock threatened Russia with serious consequences if it escalated. “Russia would pay a high political and, above all, economic price for a renewed violation of Ukrainian statehood,” said the Green politician on Thursday after a meeting with her French colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris.
Military escalation must be avoided. Solutions can only be found through diplomatic channels, said Baerbock. You and Le Drian are ready to get deeply involved personally.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has worsened in the past few weeks. The US accuses Russia of deploying troops not far from the border with Ukraine. A video summit between US President Joe Biden and his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin failed to relax.
A Russian invasion of the ex-Soviet republic is feared in the West. Russia rejects this and accuses Ukraine of having deployed more than 120,000 soldiers on the line to the areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
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France and Germany mediate in the Normandy format conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has been going on since 2014. However, the peace plan agreed in Minsk in 2015 is on hold.
According to UN estimates, more than 13,000 people were killed in fighting between Ukrainian government forces and separatists loyal to the Kremlin in the Donbass region of Ukraine. Most recently, a Normandy summit was held in Paris in December 2019. Le Drian said France and Germany wanted to hold a new meeting at ministerial level as soon as possible.
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