The German authorities is ready to implement “unprecedented sanctions” on Russia if the Kremlin fails to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine, German International Minister Annalena Baerbock mentioned Monday, including that the “ball is firmly in Moscow’s courtroom.”
The feedback got here forward of President Biden’s assembly on the White Home with Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Scholz the place Ukraine-Russia tensions are anticipated to be a key matter.
“We are going to do every thing to make sure that there is no such thing as a additional escalation. We now have due to this fact collectively ready a sequence of robust measures in opposition to Russia for this eventuality,” Baerbock mentioned.
“These unprecedented sanctions have been coordinated and ready with the approval of all companions,” she added.
Talking alongside Ukrainian International Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv, Baerbock informed members of the press that Germany and its NATO allies “stand completely by the territorial integrity and sovereignty” of Ukraine.
“There’s always a willingness to interact in severe dialogue with Russia — that’s the level of diplomacy — but in addition absolute readability that there will probably be harsh penalties if there’s additional aggression in opposition to Ukraine,” Baerbock mentioned.
“We’re ready to pay a excessive financial value for this. As a result of the safety of Ukraine is at stake,” she added.