The head of the German Foreign Ministry made a diplomatic throw through Kiev to Moscow

On Monday, Burbock also discussed with President Zelensky the possibility of resuming the Normandy Format (the last meeting of the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine took place in 2019 in Paris, and negotiations for a meeting of foreign ministers at the end of 2021 were unsuccessful).

Burbock and Zelensky did not bypass the topic of Nord Stream 2. “The need was noted for the joint implementation of specific steps in order to strengthen the energy security of Ukraine, among other things, guaranteeing long-term gas transit through the territory of our state,” the Ukrainian President’s office said in a statement following the meeting. It also notes that Zelensky called Nord Stream 2 a geopolitical project and a weapon. The parties stated that the use of the gas pipeline for political purposes would entail tough measures.

A week before Burbock’s arrival in Moscow, a series of talks between Russia and the United States, NATO and the OSCE took place on the security guarantees desired by Moscow. So far they haven’t worked. However, Washington and Brussels promised to provide a counter list of concerns, which Moscow expects to see within a week.

When Burbock was still a candidate for chancellor from the Greens, she was considered a hardliner in relations with Russia and repeatedly criticized Moscow’s actions, including for violating human rights, and also opposed the implementation of Nord Stream 2. In general, the dialogue between Moscow and Berlin was greatly weakened after the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, whom the government of Angela Merkel provided the opportunity for subsequent rehabilitation in Germany. In the summer of 2021, Russia recognized three German NGOs as undesirable organizations, after which the German part of the board of the Petersburg Dialogue, which is designed to help strengthen relations between the two countries, unilaterally suspended work. The latest irritants were the liquidation by the decision of the Russian court of the international “Memorial” (the Russian Ministry of Justice recognized the organization as a foreign agent) and the imposition by a German court of a life sentence on a Russian citizen found guilty of the murder of Zelikhan Khangoshvili in Berlin, as well as the expulsion of two Russian diplomats allegedly involved in this crime.

At the same time, the new Chancellor Scholz, who approved this decision of the German Foreign Ministry, avoided direct criticism of Russia and declared his readiness for a bilateral dialogue. In December, he had his first telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, and according to Bild, Scholz intends “restart” relations with Moscow, which contradicts the position of the Greens. The newspaper also reported on preparations for a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Germany in January, but none of the parties has yet confirmed this information.

Prior to her meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Burbock laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden and visited the exhibition Diversity. Unity. European contemporary art. Berlin. Moscow. Paris” at the Tretyakov Gallery, opened as part of the Year of Germany in Russia.

During the talks on Smolenskaya Square, Burbock emphasized the historical ties between the two countries and admitted that she felt shame and awe in the Alexander Garden. “Nothing can compensate for the suffering that the Germans brought to the people of the Soviet Union,” she said.

Contrary to expectations, before the start of the meeting, Burbock did not touch upon any of the problematic topics in bilateral relations. According to her, relations with Russia are personally important to her and there is no alternative to stable relations between Moscow and Berlin.

According to the protocol, only an hour was allotted for negotiations, but the ministerial meeting lasted almost three. After Burbock said that she arrived “with a plump folder of documents”, explaining that she is so plump because the parties discussed “a number of topics on which we have large, in part fundamental, differences of opinion.” However, this folder also contains topics on which Russia and Germany could interact. As the press conference progressed, the contents of the plump folder became more and more obvious, as the two ministers disagreed on most issues.

As in Kiev, in Moscow, Burbock announced her intention to revive the Normandy format and reiterated that Nord Stream 2 should not be used for political purposes. “If energy is used as a weapon, then this will have corresponding consequences, including in connection with this pipeline,” she said, adding that this project “is subject to European energy legislation – both the letter and the spirit of it “. Therefore, the gas pipeline needs certification, but at the moment the procedure is suspended.

Sergei Lavrov, in turn, said that Nord Stream 2 is “the largest commercial project of the last decade aimed at ensuring the energy security of Germany and Europe,” and attempts to politicize this project are counterproductive.

In addition, Burbock and Lavrov disagreed about the reasons for the presence of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. “In recent weeks, more than a hundred thousand Russian troops and military equipment have been concentrated near Ukraine for no apparent reason. It’s hard not to see it as a threat,” said the head of the German Foreign Ministry. Lavrov replied that Moscow could not “accept any demands regarding our armed forces on our own soil”, since Russia did not give and does not give “any reasons to create some kind of new conflict situation.”

The positions of the ministers did not coincide in their assessments of the situation with the broadcasting of the RT DE TV channel in Germany. Lavrov urged not to interfere with his broadcast. “That there is government intervention is simply not true,” Burbock replied. According to her, RT DE operates in Germany, broadcasts its programs on the Internet, and its journalists are always present at government press conferences.