Annalena Baerbock (Green)
Germany’s foreign minister said the EU will continue to closely monitor the situation in Russia.
(Photo: IMAGO/photothek)
Brussels The European Union (EU) is reluctant to assess the attempted uprising of the Wagner mercenaries against Russian President Vladimir Putin. At their meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, several EU foreign ministers stressed that it was still too early to draw conclusions and that the situation must continue to be closely monitored.
“We do not interfere,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). “It’s still not clear what’s going on there.”
However, Baerbock apparently assumes that the power struggle in Russia is not over yet. The weekend’s events are “just one act in this Russian drama,” she said. However, it is already clear that the Russian war of aggression will hit the country. “We see huge cracks in Russian propaganda.”
Baerbock emphasized that it was not yet possible to assess the risks this would entail for Ukraine and Europe. The EU can only continue to support Ukraine. That’s why the European Union is increasing the EU peace fund by €3.5 billion. The federal government will also send 45 more Gepard tanks to Ukraine by the end of the year.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn warned of a “major destabilization” in Russia. “It would be dangerous for Europe if the biggest country in the world with the most nuclear weapons in Europe collapsed,” he said. Putin has lost his “omnipotence”. This could have negative consequences for Ukraine. The war in Ukraine is Putin’s sole raison d’être, and now it could happen that he will wage the war even more brutally, the Luxembourger said.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen said the weekend’s events could change the course of the war. But whether they are a “game changer” he doesn’t know. At least Putin is weakened. Representatives of the Baltic countries appealed to their colleagues to increase support for Ukraine and other neighbors of Russia. “We must keep the pressure on Russia and win the war,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
Lithuania: Russians manage regime change alone
His Lithuanian colleague Gabrielius Landsbergis called for more European troops to be stationed in his country. Over the weekend, we saw how quickly Russian troops could get to Moscow, he said. They could just as quickly advance through Belarus to the EU’s borders. Russia is unpredictable, as the events of the weekend showed. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) declared on Monday that he was willing to permanently station a brigade of 4,000 Bundeswehr troops in Lithuania.
Annalena Baerbock, Gabrielius Landsbergis (from right) and other ministers from EU member states
The Baltic states are in favor of protecting NATO’s eastern flank.
(Photo: IMAGO/photothek)
Landsbergis expects more rebellions in Russia. Wagner’s revolt underscores that there are doubts in Russia about the war against Ukraine. “History shows that whenever Russia is overwhelmed in a foreign war, there are problems in Russia,” he said.
For Landsbergis, the most important lesson of the riot is that regime change in Moscow does not have to be initiated from the outside. “The Russians can do it themselves.” Both Baltic ministers spoke out in favor of confiscating the Russian central bank’s frozen reserves and using them to rebuild Ukraine. Tsahkna announced that Estonia would submit a legally clean bid. The EU could use this as a guide.
>> Read here: For Putin, the troubles are just beginning
The EU Commission intends to present a corresponding bill before the summer break. However, access to Russian reserves is highly controversial among member states. While Poland and the Baltic countries are in favor, most others warn against breaking the law.
In principle, we are in favor of helping Ukraine as much as possible, said Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra. However, there is a clear limit: “We will never break the law.” The federal government sees it similarly, even if Baerbock did not speak out on Monday. The issue will be discussed at the summit of EU heads of government on Thursday.
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