Annalena Baerbock walks through the old town of Riga alongside Edgars Rinkevics, Foreign Minister of Latvia (l), Eva-Maria Liimets, Foreign Minister of Estonia, and Gabrielius Landsbergis (r), Foreign Minister of Lithuania.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The federal government initiates a reversal of its previous Ostpolitik. “We are prepared to do even more to ensure the security of our partners,” said Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) after the meeting with her counterparts from the Baltic States in Riga.
Germany has made serious mistakes towards Russia, she explained in the capital of Latvia, but now people are looking to the future. Independence from Russian energy supplies has been initiated.
Even before the Russian invasion, the Baltic and Eastern European states had repeatedly called on Berlin to take more decisive action against Russia. They wanted an early end to the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, which has since been stopped.
Baerbock pledged more military aid to Ukraine in Riga. Deliveries of armored vehicles are also “not taboo for us, even if it sometimes sounds like it in the German debate,” said the Foreign Minister. Then she restricted: “In the short term, we don’t have anything that we can now deliver really quickly and immediately.” She suggested a “ring exchange”.
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This was also explained by government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit from Berlin. Eastern European countries were supposed to supply Ukraine with weapons purchased from the Soviet Union or later from Russia. These would be replaced by German weapons or weapons from other NATO countries: “If a decision is made there: ‘We want to deliver these weapons’, we promise to fill these gaps with other allies.” However, that is not the case Night.
Baerbock ties Europe’s security to the Baltic States
The German government claims that the Ukrainian army will get such heavy weapons that their soldiers can use them immediately as an advantage. The Ukrainians have little or no training in modern Western tanks, artillery systems or fighter planes.
>> Read here: Germany is apparently training Ukrainians to use Panzerhaubitze 2000
However, Germany is now offering Ukrainian armed forces military training in modern weapon systems. Above all, they should be trained on the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled rapid-fire artillery system. The heavy artillery vehicles are to be delivered from Holland, according to government circles.
The Foreign Minister will visit Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania for three days. This is a sign to the Baltic states of how important NATO’s eastern flank is to the traffic light coalition. Baerbock travels to Lithuania on Friday. The Bundeswehr is leading a so-called Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group there. 1000 German soldiers are stationed in Lithuania for this purpose.
So far, however, these NATO units have not been permanently based in the three Baltic states and Poland. The forces from the NATO countries were exchanged regularly. Because the defense alliance had promised Russia in the course of its eastward expansion not to permanently station any units in the east.
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However, since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, NATO has been expanding its military presence in its Eastern European member states. “In an emergency, we will defend every square centimeter of our common alliance area,” Baerbock said on Wednesday in Riga.
This applies above all to the three Baltic states, which in recent years have repeatedly felt forgotten by Berlin and the large EU states. “Europe’s security, the security of all of us, is inextricably linked to the security of the Baltic States,” emphasized the Foreign Minister.
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