Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, appeared to suggest that a political divorce between the United States and its European allies may be on the table if the Trump administration continues to criticize the government of Ukraine as well as its allies in Western Europe.
“We are increasing the pressure on the Americans so that they will lose as much as possible if they no longer stand at the side of Europe’s liberal democracies,” Baerbock said at a campaign stop in Potsdam on Friday in the run-up to today’s national elections.
Baerbock, a member and former co-leader of Germany’s Greens, has been serving as the country’s first female foreign minister since December 2021.
Her comments came after a US delegation met with Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia without the involvement of either Ukraine or other European governments earlier in the week. US President Donald Trump has also been engaging in a war of words with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of being a “dictator” and of being responsible for starting the war.
To add fuel to the fire in US-European relations, US Vice President JD Vance stated the week prior in Munich that Russia and China do not pose a threat to Europe, and that the real problem for the continent comes from Western Europe’s liberal governments.
“Nobody can decide on war and peace over the heads of the Ukrainians or us Europeans – and this is clearly Germany’s position,” Baerbock told the crowd.
She also referred to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s pronouncement that there had been a “turning point” in relation to Germany’s commitment to defense preparedness after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “Three years ago we said, ‘It is a turning point,’” Baerbock said. “Now we need a second turning point. No more hesitation or procrastination for our peace.”
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 19, 2024
A pensioner from Lower Saxony was fined more than half his monthly income by a German court for satirical comments about Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in the latest case of citizens being convicted for insulting politicians.
Helmut K made an online submission through… pic.twitter.com/LZAbruihy9
Baerbock nevertheless refrained from declaring that it is time for Europe to abandon its long-time alliance with the United States, saying that Germany should “not fall for the trap and jump through every hoop that is held out to us.”
She warned that a ceasefire in Ukraine that is won through “blackmail or capitulation” will not lead to peace, but rather further war. “That is why I will support Ukraine for as long as it needs it, because it is our peace,” she added.
Despite Baerbock’s impassioned criticism of the new American administration’s handling of Ukraine, her own stance on the conflict has been inconsistent. She was initially hesitant to come to the country’s defense. In January 2022, a month prior to Russia’s invasion, she refused to supply German weapons to Kiev. Even in the days after Russia’s invasion had begun in February, she argued against excluding Russia from the SWIFT international banking system.
Last month Baerbock became the first European minister to meet with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former Al Qaeda leader who seized power in Syria through an armed revolution in December. Al-Sharaa refused to shake her hand, in accordance with Islamic law.
NEW:
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 25, 2024A Bavarian woman who was fined €6,000 in 2023 for calling German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock a "hollow brat" on X has been acquitted after a district court trial.
The woman, whose tweets included comments such as "this hollow brat is a danger to our country,"… pic.twitter.com/UYt9f8MuCs
