(Munich) Westerners are again struggling to speak with one voice in the crisis with Russia, as Germany clearly distanced itself on Saturday from the assurance displayed by Washington that an attack from Ukraine was imminent .
Posted at 1:54 p.m.
“In crisis situations, the worst thing is to assume or try to guess” what will happen, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Munich after a meeting of the G7 forum that his country currently chairs.
The purpose of the meeting was precisely to coordinate the Western camp against Moscow.
The day before, US President Joe Biden had said, for the first time, “convinced” that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had decided to invade Ukraine “in the coming days”, and that the multiplication of clashes was aimed at create a “false justification” for launching the offensive.
“We don’t know if an attack has already been decided,” commented Mme Baerbock in a firm reframing on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, an annual event that hosts the elite of international leaders until Sunday.
Asked several times about the American assertions, the minister contented herself with replying: “We see that there are different scenarios, that different scenarios are emerging. »
“We don’t think we should panic,” added Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a little later in front of an audience of diplomats and experts from around the world.
‘Hard to judge’
For almost three months, through regular leaks in the press and public declarations, Washington has not ceased to sound the alarm about the preparations for a Russian offensive in Ukraine.
At the beginning of February, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrel called for “avoiding” “alarmist reactions” in this long-term crisis.
Washington’s fear has turned into certainty displayed in recent hours with the multiplication of violations of the ceasefire between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces who have been fighting since 2014 in eastern Ukraine.
“We are convinced that President Putin has made his decision,” repeated the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken in an interview with the German daily. Suddeutsche Zeitung Saturday.
The Secretary of State hailed a strengthened relationship with European allies and “incredibly close cooperation” with Germany.
“I have never experienced such a level of coordination before,” added Blinken, who met his G7 counterparts in Munich.
While relaying this message of unity, Annalena Baerbock called for caution: “Above all, we must ensure that we are not victims of targeted disinformation. »
In this context, the free access of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to crisis areas in Ukraine “is essential”, she stressed.
“They are currently the eyes and ears of the international community. […] they are the ones who can always shine a light on what is really happening on the ground,” according to Ms.me Baerbock.
The Ukrainian president, for his part, avoided going too far on the American assertions: “It is difficult for me to judge how the United States should use its intelligence,” he declared in Munich.
While saying he was “grateful” for the information shared by the Americans, he said he trusted first and foremost “the Ukrainian intelligence services, which understand what is happening along our borders”.
gas pipeline
Mr. Zelensky had also decided to maintain his trip to Germany when Joe Biden had wondered the day before if it was “wise” for him to be absent from his country in this context of tensions.
“The more Europe and America work together, the more success we will have,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday.
The shadow of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which links Russia to Germany and is still awaiting certification by the German regulator, could however resurface in relations between Washington and Berlin if new sanctions were to be imposed against Russia.
The German government ended up admitting that the controversial gas pipeline would not be spared in the event of punitive measures, but refrained from specifying how this strategic infrastructure would be penalised.