Germany’s Baerbock Warns US Over Failure To Back “Liberal Democracies”
(ZeroHedge) – After days of EU officials essentially begging Washington to give the bloc a seat at the table in talks with Russia to end the Ukraine war, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has warned the US that its actions could severely damage relations with Europe.
She urged for the European Union to put more pressure on Washington, and coupled the statement with a warning of what will happen if “liberal democracies” can’t be supported. This is after President Trump has blasted Ukraine and the Zelensky government for refusing to hold elections or achieve peace with Moscow.
“We are increasing the pressure on the Americans” to signal “that they have a lot to lose if they stop standing by the liberal democracies of Europe,” she said Friday during a campaign event near Berlin.
Getty Images
Her words sound like a threat issued in the direct of President Trump, which he’s unlikely to take very kindly too, at a moment the US administration has been denouncing Zelensky’s ‘rude’ behavior.
She repeated Berlin’s warnings against a “sham peace” in Ukraine, and voiced the need to prevent forcing Kiev into painful and unfair concessions.
“A sham peace – that is, a peace that is not peace, but blackmail or a surrender is not peace, but the opposite: further preparation for even more war and violence,” the German top diplomat said. She again emphasized that she and Germany will support Ukraine “as long as it needs it.”
On the question of the future of European-US relations under Trump, Baerbock said at this point drawing firm conclusions are premature, noting that “nothing has been decided there.”
Meanwhile EU officials aren’t the only ones in ‘shock’ after Trump dismissed Zelensky as a ‘dictator’ this week, but Ukrainian officials too are alarmed that Kiev’s biggest backer has clearly turned:
“It is painful, it’s not easy, it’s not easy to process,” Kira Rudik, member of the Ukrainian parliament and leader of the opposition Golos party, said of Trump’s remarks.
…The rhetorical tit-for-tat was a mistake, said Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament for the opposition European Solidarity party.
Zelensky’s own officials are desperately warning him not to take the bait, and to ignore Trump’s rhetorical harshness against Ukraine.
“What’s happening, it’s a catastrophe,” Goncharenko added. “That was a very big mistake from Zelensky to react to what Trump said… that Trump is in a disinformation bubble — after that it was clear Trump would react. We know that these things, for him being criticized publicly, I don’t know, it is the worst possible thing.”
Der Spiegel cover: “Betrayed. First Zelensky, then us? The US’s radical withdrawal from its allies”
The Ukrainian official continued, “The best thing now, I think, just is not to reply anymore and try to find somebody who will message Trump and try to rebuild at least some kind of relationships — because we need United States, that’s all. We desperately need the US.”
__________
Header featured image (edited) credit: . REUTERS/Annegret Hilse. Emphasis added by (TLB)
••••
••••
Stay tuned tuned…
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Leave a Reply