“If there was a sanction that would stop the tanks of (Russian President Vladimir Putin) Putin tomorrow, we would decide today,” German Foreign Minister Analena Berbok said on Sunday, while acknowledging that Europe was too dependent on Russia. energy.
Asked by Kiev to impose a NATO ban on Ukrainian airspace, Ms Berbok said that in that case no one could guarantee that the war would not spread to the rest of Europe.
All this “breaks our hearts, we all know someone in Ukraine (…) and this feeling leads me. We want to do everything (…) if there was any sanction that would stop the tanks tomorrow, we would decide today. “Unfortunately, there is no such measure, because the Russian president has made up his mind to occupy this country, no matter how much it costs him,” the German foreign minister said in an interview with the German second channel’s nightly news bulletin. ZDF and stressed the need for the sanctions to be maintained in the long term. “It does not make sense to say that we will impose a sanction tomorrow and cancel it a week later,” he said.
Asked about the exemption of two Russian banks from sanctions – one is Gazprombank – Analena Berbok admitted that “we all in Europe are in a position of weakness, as it is unpredictable what the next one will do”. “That’s why we put everything on the table, nothing has been removed,” he stressed. “We in Germany, but also in Europe as a whole, are largely dependent on Russian energy (…). We have made it clear for a long time, we need more independence. But this is old news. We are now in the reality of today “, added Mrs. Berbok.
“We can not turn off the lights completely” in Europe: “This dissolves us all in government, but even though the images of bombed-out cities break our hearts, we must always keep our cool – because of course we take full responsibility, first of all for the suffering and death in Ukraine, but also about how in Germany, in Europe, we will not shoot ourselves in the foot. ” The Foreign Minister also stressed that it is important for the Russian President, in what he does with the invasion and the violation of human rights, to face long-term consequences.
On the Ukrainian government’s request to NATO to protect Ukrainian airspace by imposing a flight ban, Ms. Berbok defended the Alliance’s decision: “This sounds like a defense measure in principle. In practice, however, the protection of airspace would mean that we, NATO, would shoot down Russian planes. “That we would actively intervene in this war (…) And then we could not put our hand in the fire that the war would not spread to our part of Europe,” he stressed.
For the protection of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, The minister noted that despite the fact that all communication channels have been cut off, “we are in talks with the Russian side to make it clear that the nuclear power plants are not allowed to be attacked – after all (radioactivity) would also affect Russia.” He reiterated that the Russian president’s war against Ukraine is also directed against his own people: “People are being arrested. They are threatened with years in prison. “We are making it clear again and again: This is not a war of the Russians, but a war of the Russian president,” he insisted.
Ms. Burbok was also asked about the proposal of her American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, who called for preparations to form an exiled government of Ukraine, if something happens to President Volodymyr Zelensky: “We are preparing all possible scenarios (… ). But one thing is clear: we are on the side of this Ukrainian government. They defend their country with whatever means they have. The president is there, the foreign minister himself. Everyone is there to defend their country, because this is a struggle for freedom. That is why it is so important to support the Ukrainian government. “
“This has been made clear by various leaders, such as the Israeli Prime Minister – this is the legitimate government of Ukraine and the international community supports this government,” she said.
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