Germany’s Baerbock heads to US to discuss stand-off with Russia

Berlin (dpa) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock departed on Wednesday for talks in Washington set to focus on Europe’s strained relationship with Russia, in her first trip to the United States since taking office.

“The more difficult the times are, the more important strong partnerships are – and as Europeans, we have no stronger partner than the US,” Baerbock said as she set off in Berlin.

She is scheduled to meet her US counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with whom she last met at a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Liverpool in December, shortly after Germany’s new coalition government was sworn in.

The two top diplomats are expected to discuss Russia’s recent build-up of troops near its border with Ukraine, which has prompted fears in the West that Moscow could be planning an invasion.

Baerbock said Europe and the United States had a joint message, that “Russian action comes with a clear price tag, [and] the only way out of the crisis is through dialogue.”

Moscow has been warned repeatedly in previous weeks against any military intervention, by Washington, NATO and various European partners. However, Baerbock noted that the situation had reached a “decisive phase, in which important talks are pending at different levels.”

Her meeting comes ahead of talks planned between Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France on the Ukraine crisis in Moscow on Thursday.

Russian and US diplomats are also scheduled to meet in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday next week. Russia and NATO are planning separate talks on January 12.

A NATO foreign ministers’ meeting on the issue is set for Friday.

For weeks, the West has been concerned about reports that Russia has massed tens of thousands of soldiers in areas not far from Ukraine.

Russia rejects accusations of military aggression, and in turn accuses Ukraine of having moved more soldiers to its eastern areas, which are held by pro-Russian separatists.

The developments recall the events of 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and began its ongoing support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. A conflict has been ongoing in the region ever since and more than 13,000 people have been killed in the violence, according to UN estimates.

During her trip to Washington, Baerbock is also scheduled to meet US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Their meeting comes on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters broke into the seat of the US government.

“I am travelling to Washington not only as foreign minister, but as a committed democrat and parliamentarian,” Baerbock said in a statement upon her departure.

Baerbock, a member of Germany’s Green Party, is also expected to discuss climate policies with the US administration during her visit.