Russia is increasingly outraged by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s statement about the “war against Russia”. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova Demands Explanation from German Ambassador in Moscow Over ‘Contradictory Statements’; on the one hand, Germany declared that it was not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, and on the other hand, Annalena Baerbock declared that European countries were at war with Russia.
“Do they themselves understand what they are talking about? – Zakharova wrote on the Telegram instant messenger.
“The War Against Russia”
The head of German diplomacy called on Tuesday (24 January 2023) during the Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg for cohesion between the Western allies, saying: “We are waging war against Russia, not against each other. others”.
Russian state media gratefully used the statement as a key phrase of war propaganda as evidence that Germany and other EU countries are direct parties to the conflict in Ukraine and are fighting against Russia. .
Security expert Claudia Major of the Berlin Foundation for Science and Politics (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik / SWP) spoke on ZDF’s “Morgenmagazin” about the “extremely unfortunate slip” of Annalena Baerbock who is now being used by the Russian state propaganda.
In turn, the German government generally emphasizes that it is not a party to the war in Ukraine. On Wednesday evening, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, when asked in ZDF whether Germany and its allies were not participating in the war by supplying tanks, which has now been decided: “No, absolutely not.” As he added: “There can be no war between Russia and NATO”. After Baerbock’s statements, the Foreign Office also clarified that Germany “is not a party to the conflict”.
proxy war
After promising to deliver Leopard 2s to Ukraine, Germany has come under increasing criticism in Russia for using heavy weapons against Russian soldiers for the first time since World War II. As part of the decision to supply tanks also taken by other countries, such as France, Britain and the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday: “Everything the Alliance and the capitals I mentioned (from Europe and the United States) are seen in Moscow as directly involved in the conflict.This involvement, he said, is growing.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the US and EU of waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. “Yet Russia will not declare war,” Peskov said.
France on Thursday rejected Russian accusations of “direct involvement” of Western countries in the war in Ukraine. “Supplying arms in self-defense (…) does not mean becoming a belligerent,” said a spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry in Paris. “We are not at war with Russia and neither are our partners,” she added.
(DPA, AFP/I like)
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