U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met in Washington on Wednesday to discuss various issues between the two countries. One critical issue was that of the increase of Russian troops along the border of its former Soviet neighbor Ukraine. The build-up is said to be caused by Ukraine’s attempts to join NATO, which the U.S. and Germany are both members of. The two representatives agreed that this military presence can be dangerous.

“Both Germany and the United States see Russia’s actions toward Ukraine as an immediate and urgent challenge to peace and stability in Europe,” said Blinken. “We condemn Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, as well as Russia’s increasingly harsh rhetoric as it continues to push the false narrative that Ukraine seeks to provoke them. That’s a little bit like the fox saying it had no choice but to attack the henhouse because somehow the hens presented a threat.”

Without using analogies like her American counterpart, Baerbock agreed that Russia’s actions are a form of intimidation.

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“We jointly reiterated that Russian actions and activities come with a clear price tag,” she explained, “and a renewed violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russia would have severe consequences.”

The Blinken-Baerbock meeting followed a telephone call last week between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a conversation Sunday between Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a group discussion Tuesday among Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his counterparts from the five Nordic nations.

It also preceded a flurry of meetings involving NATO foreign ministers, senior U.S. and Russian officials, the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe set for next week.

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“The real question is whether Russia is serious about diplomacy, serious about de-escalation,” Blinken said. “Let’s see where this goes over the next weeks.”

Western officials have hinted at any number of economically crippling sanctions that could be imposed should Russia act. Those include near-total cutoff from the international financial system and steps toward greater NATO integration with non-allied European nations.

But, there have been very few specifics and Blinken again declined to discuss them. “I’m not going to telegraph them publicly, but I can tell you with great confidence that a tremendous amount of work has been done already. There is very strong coordination and collaboration and very strong agreement on measures that would be taken in the event of renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

As the Biden administration moves to build international consensus around a set of possible punitive measures, Germany is clearly the linchpin. Securing the support of Europe’s biggest economy will be key to both messaging and implementation of whatever is decided.

Baerbock is the top diplomat in the first German government in 16 years not headed by Angela Merkel. She has struck a tougher tone on Russia than her predecessor. But Germany has adopted a less confrontational stance toward Russia compared with many other European nations.

Germany’s business ties with Russia could provide leverage, but they could also prove a hindrance for forging a united front toward Moscow. Despite strong criticism from the U.S., the center-left government of new Chancellor Olaf Scholz hasn’t shown itself willing to block the start of natural gas deliveries through a newly built pipeline linking Russia and Germany—a move that would hurt both countries.

Under Merkel, Germany persuaded the Biden administration last year not to impose sanctions on the company building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which many believe will leave Europe beholden to Russia for energy and Ukraine more vulnerable.

Blinken noted that the pipeline, while completed, has yet to go into operation and said gas flows through it would be unlikely if Russia invades Ukraine.

“If Russia renews its aggression toward Ukraine, it would certainly be difficult to see gas flowing through it in the future,” he said. This actually gives the EU leverage over Russia, he said, rather than the other way around.

Baerbock sidestepped the question of whether the pipeline would be operationalized in the event of a Russian intervention. However, she said the new German government would abide by an agreement signed last summer with Washington that says Russia will not be allowed to use energy as a political weapon against Europe.

“We agreed on this, together with our European partners, that we would take effective measures together with our European partners, should Russia use energy as a weapon or should it continue its aggressive acts against Ukraine,” Baerbock said.

Blinken did not directly address her response but said the U.S. would press ahead with joint measures on the pipeline if necessary.

“We will continue to work in a way that I hope can be effective in dealing with energy issues and challenges, including those posed in our judgment by Nord Stream 2, and also in a way that preserves what is so vital, and that is strong trans-Atlantic solidarity. That is the most effective response and most effective tool that we have in countering Russian aggression,” he said.

Nord Stream 2 is a topic of major concern in Washington, and Congress is expected to take up two bills related to it and other Russia sanctions next week, just as the meetings in Europe are happening. A GOP bill would automatically impose Nord Stream sanctions, while a Democratic version would impose a wider range of penalties on Russia should it invade Ukraine.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington have blamed Nord Stream 2 for increasing Russia’s leverage over Germany and limiting what Berlin would be willing to do in response to a new invasion. Germany, like much of the European Union, is heavily reliant on Russian natural gas.

Blinken said the U.S. has delivered weapons to Ukraine and would continue to do so in the event of a further Russian military assault on the country.

Echoing concerns by some in Germany that this could stoke military tensions with Russia, Baerbock said “we have a different position on arms supply to Ukraine,” but noted that Berlin has provided a military hospital to the Ukrainian army and support in treating wounded soldiers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/us-germany-say-russia-military-buildup-ukraine-poses-immediate-urgent-challenge-1666076

The post U.S., Germany Say Russia Military Buildup at Ukraine Poses ‘Immediate and Urgent Challenge’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

With France set to start its six-month stint in the rotating EU presidency, Emmanuel Macron spoke on Thursday of a budget rethink within the bloc, took a swipe at the post-Brexit British government and said he planned remote talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.

Macron also said that France would not be following in the footsteps of the United States, UK, Canada and Australia, by conducting a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, set to take place in February 2022.

The French leader said his priorities for the European Council presidency were encapsulated within the motto: “Recovery, power, belonging” as he seeks a “strong, fully sovereign, and united Europe.”

France’s aim was “to move towards a Europe that is powerful in the world, free in its choices and in charge of its own destiny,” Macron said at a news conference in Paris.

France takes on the rotating presidency as Belarus stands accused of engineering a refugee crisis on EU borders, amid global calls for a tougher stance on China over human rights issues, during renewed tensions with Russia over Ukraine, and as post-Brexit relations with the UK — not least Franco-British ties — become more and more strained.

Macron on EU budget
The French president said it was possible the bloc would need to go beyond the initial €750-billion coronavirus recovery package.

Macron, speaking a day before hosting Germany’s new Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said he would use France’s six-month presidency to convene an extraordinary summit of the bloc’s 27 member state leaders in Paris, on March 10 and 11..

To be held just a month before France’s presidential election, Macron said the EU gathering would help define a new European growth model in the wake of the pandemic.

Germany’s Scholz supported the original COVID stimulus package but he is wary of any joint borrowing mechanism becoming permanent.

Macron also said the new budget rules must help boost investments in the digital sector. “For that we must start building a budgetary and financial framework that is credible, simplified and transparent,” he said.

One aspect, he stressed, will be discussing whether budget stimulus is enough, while also defining whether some national investments can be allowed to go beyond the bloc’s allowance.

Macron also believes the EU should try to work towards a common, decent EU minimum wage.

Macron on the UK government
Meanwhile, relations with the UK remain strained over fishing rights, migration and security because the British government cannot be trusted, Macron said.

“The problem with the British government is that it does not do what it says,” Macron said, albeit swiftly adding how much he “loved Britain” and “its people.”

But “I have an overwhelming desire to have a [British] government that wants to works with us in good faith,” Macron said.

Regarding recent tensions over migrant crossings and a row over the granting of British fishing licences to French fishermen, Macron said he wanted the issues resolved before a Paris-imposed deadline on Friday, even though London says it is not working to such a timetable.

Referring to the UK’s part in arranging the sale of US-designed submarines to Australia at the expense of French ones, Macron said this was “not the most obvious sign of friendship,” before adding that this formulation was an “understatement.”

Last month 27 people drowned as they crossed the Channel, heading to Britain from France, and Macron said the UK’s policies were to blame, suggesting Britain’s economic model was based on illegal labor.

Macron on Russia
Macron said he planned to hold a meeting next week with Russian President Vladimir Putin “online” as he seeks reassurances over the Kremlin’s intentions in and around Ukraine.

The French president also said he would be speaking next week with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Tensions between the EU and Russia have escalated in recent months amid reports of Russia amassing troops near its border to Ukraine. This is further compounded by Moscow’s close relationship with Minsk, with Brussels accusing Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of engineering a migration crisis aimed at destabilizing the bloc.

Macron on Beijing Winter Olympics diplomacy
Macron also highlighted the need to avoid “politicizing” sport ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which are set to begin on February 4 — indicating that the EU might not be following the diplomatic boycott of the Games.

Several countries have said they will not be sending officials to the event in the Chinese capital, but Macron said he was “in favor of action that has a useful outcome.”

“To be clear: You either have a complete boycott, and not send athletes, or you try to change things with useful actions.”

Canada is the latest country to announce a diplomatic boycott of the event, joining Australia, Britain and the United States in doing so. China has described the boycotts as “political posturing” and said the countries who opt for this policy will “pay the price.”

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/emmanuel-macron-slams-uk-government-as-he-sets-french-eu-presidency-agenda/a-60073593

The post Emmanuel Macron slams UK government as he sets French EU presidency agenda first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.