Annalena Baerbock (GRÜNE), Germany’s Foreign Minister, Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages bei einer Plenarsitzung des Deutschen Bundestages am 30. Oktober 2020 in Berlin.

By  Gary  Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock put Russia on notice Wednesday that its aggression in Ukraine will come with a “clear price tag” and urged Moscow to engage in dialogue. Baerbock made the statement in a joint press conference in Washington DC with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“The common position of Europeans and the U.S. Government has been made clear on many occasions – bilaterally, but also in multilateral fora – and we reiterated this position and we jointly reiterated that Russian actions and activities come with a clear price tag, and a renewed violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russia would have severe consequences.  The Russian Government is aware of this position, and the only way out of this crisis is dialogue, and we agree on this:  The only way out is dialogue.”

-Germany Foreign Minister Baerbock said in a statement

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a virtual joint press availability with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2022. (State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha)

“In light of the situation at the Ukrainian-Russian border, we made it clear:  Yes, a further military escalation and a violation of the sovereignty of Ukraine would entail enormous economic consequences, and this also affects the financial sector, and we’re in close coordination and exchange.”

-Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock 

German Foreign Minister   Annalena Baerbock    (Unterzeichnung des Koalitionsvertrages der 20. Wahlperiode des Bundestages )

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken  said the close relationship between Germany and the United States will continue under  Chancellor Scholz and his team.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a virtual joint press availability with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2022. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha]

“Let me just briefly touch on some of the things that the foreign minister and I talked about today.  On Russia, both Germany and the United States see Russia’s actions towards Ukraine as an immediate and urgent challenge to peace and stability in Europe.  We condemn Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders, as well as Moscow’s increasingly harsh rhetoric as it continues to push the false narrative that Ukraine seeks to provoke a conflict with Russia.  That’s a little bit like the fox saying it had no choice but to attack the hen house because somehow the hens presented a threat to it. What’s happening right with Russia’s actions towards Ukraine isn’t just about Ukraine, as important as that is.  It’s about some of the most basic principles of international relations that we both share and adhere to – for example, that one country cannot simply change by force the borders of another or dictate the choices another country makes in its foreign policy or with whom it chooses to associate – or seeks to establish a sphere of influence to subjugate its neighbors.”

-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken