On Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Berlin to seek a diplomatic solution for the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
Deutschland, Frankreich und Polen wollen sich für Verhandlungen zwischen #Russland und der #Ukraine einsetzen. So soll ein Krieg verhindert werden. https://t.co/Pvg6QtOfzU
— ZEIT ONLINE Politik (@zeitonline_pol) February 8, 2022
In a statement, the German government said, “The leaders call on Russia to de-escalate the situation at the Ukrainian border and engage in a meaningful dialogue on security of the European continent.” Additionally, the government underlined massive consequences and severe costs for Russia if the latter continued being militarily aggressive against Ukraine.
During a joint conference with Duda and Macron, Scholz said, “Our common goal is to avoid a war in Europe. The deployment of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine is very worrying, and our assessment of the situation here is very much the same.” Scholz reaffirmed that further violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty is unacceptable and would have severe political, economic and geo-strategical consequences.
Likewise, Duda said the three countries would keep trying to ease tensions between Moscow and Kyiv. “We have to find a solution to avoid war. As I’ve said, this is currently our main task. I believe that we will achieve it. In my opinion, what’s most important today is unity and solidarity,” Duda said.
Similarly, Macron asked for security talks with Russia to highlight the “inviolability of Europe’s borders.” Also, Macron is seeking to revive negotiations in the Normandy format - France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.
Tuesday’s meeting in Berlin comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Macron that Moscow would not escalate tensions during their meeting at the Kremlin on Monday. Following negotiations with Putin, Macron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that he refuses to believe Putin’s word but would welcome concrete steps for securing peace in the region.
Russia has amassed tens of thousands of soldiers near Ukraine, indicating another invasion of the Eastern European country. The West has threatened Moscow with severe punitive sanctions, including shutting down of the Nord Stream 2 — an $11bn underwater gas pipeline connecting Russia to Germany— if the Soviet power invades Ukraine. In response, Russia has denied any plans of attacking Ukraine and has sought legal guarantees to restrict the eastward expansion of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Ukraine’s membership of the alliance.
Scholz will travel to Kyiv and Moscow on February 14 and February 15. On Monday, Scholz met with US President Joe Biden at the White House and discussed Europe’s security. Both leaders also agreed that diplomacy is the best solution while at the same said they would impose sanctions on Russia if it goes to war with Ukraine.