+ A
A -
dpa
Kiev
Germany is in the process of reducing its dependence on Russian energy “to zero - forever,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday during the first visit by a member of the German government to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Speaking at a press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, Baerbock said there could be no common ground with Russia, a country she described as an “aggressor” that does not respect rules and commits war crimes.
Even though Russian troops had retreated from Kiev, the war was not over, Baerbock said. “A missile can strike just about anywhere in this country,” she said.
Baerbock met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who thanked her for the German solidarity with his country.
The German minister informed Zelensky that training of Ukrainian soldiers to use the modern self-propelled Panzerhaubitzen 2000 artillery system, which Germany will supply to Ukraine together with the Netherlands, would begin in a few days.
Baerbock said that there had been an “open, friendly discussion” with Zelensky, including on Ukraine’s reconstruction and the issue of how to solve the blockade of urgently needed food exports from Ukraine.
The country is one of the world’s largest grain exporters, but Russia has blocked the ports that are important for trade.
Baerbock also used the visit to extend an invitation to Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, to attend an upcoming G7 foreign ministers’ conference, set to run Thursday through Saturday. Germany is the current host of the G7. The German minister also announced that the country’s embassy in Kiev would reopen later on Tuesday with a skeleton staff.
Operations were shut down in mid-February in anticipation of the war, with embassy operations being run out of western Ukraine and Berlin.
Kiev
Germany is in the process of reducing its dependence on Russian energy “to zero - forever,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday during the first visit by a member of the German government to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Speaking at a press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, Baerbock said there could be no common ground with Russia, a country she described as an “aggressor” that does not respect rules and commits war crimes.
Even though Russian troops had retreated from Kiev, the war was not over, Baerbock said. “A missile can strike just about anywhere in this country,” she said.
Baerbock met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who thanked her for the German solidarity with his country.
The German minister informed Zelensky that training of Ukrainian soldiers to use the modern self-propelled Panzerhaubitzen 2000 artillery system, which Germany will supply to Ukraine together with the Netherlands, would begin in a few days.
Baerbock said that there had been an “open, friendly discussion” with Zelensky, including on Ukraine’s reconstruction and the issue of how to solve the blockade of urgently needed food exports from Ukraine.
The country is one of the world’s largest grain exporters, but Russia has blocked the ports that are important for trade.
Baerbock also used the visit to extend an invitation to Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, to attend an upcoming G7 foreign ministers’ conference, set to run Thursday through Saturday. Germany is the current host of the G7. The German minister also announced that the country’s embassy in Kiev would reopen later on Tuesday with a skeleton staff.
Operations were shut down in mid-February in anticipation of the war, with embassy operations being run out of western Ukraine and Berlin.
