Merz announcement after Scholz's Putin call: "He's a war criminal, but Russia is not our enemy"

Created: 08/03/2022 05:09

By: Florian Naumann

In the Ukraine war, CDU leader Merz suddenly thinks of a NATO mission - Olaf Scholz reacts clearly.

Annalena Baerbock announces new sanctions.

The news ticker.

• The Ukraine war* lasts over a week.

  There is also great concern in Germany.

• Vladimir Putin has informed Chancellor Olaf Scholz about planned negotiations

  (see update from March 4, 3:40 p.m.).

• Foreign Minister Baerbock sharply condemned the war - and rejected NATO intervention in Ukraine

  (see update from March 4, 9 p.m.).

• In Berlin there is a conversation between Olaf Scholz and Israel's Prime Minister Bennett

  (see update from March 5, 7:54 p.m.).

• This

  news ticker on reactions from Germany to the Ukraine war

  has ended.

  The news from March 6th can be found here.

Update from March 5, 7:54 p.m

.: Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again acts as a crisis diplomat in the Ukraine war.

The SPD politician wants to talk to Israel about the conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made a surprise trip to Moscow on Saturday morning.

As his office announced, Bennett will continue from Moscow to Berlin.

Israel acts as a mediator in the Ukraine war because it has good relations with Ukraine and Russia.

Olaf Scholz was a guest at Naftali Bennett in Israel just a few days ago.

© UPI Photo/Imago

Update from March 5, 7:10 p.m.:

According to a member of the Ukrainian delegation, a third round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is to take place on Monday.

"The third round of negotiations will take place on Monday," said the parliamentary speaker of Ukraine's ruling party, Servant of the People, David Arachamia, on Facebook on Saturday.

You can read more about the Ukraine-Russia talks and other reactions in our news ticker.

Germany's position in the Ukraine war: CDU does not want to break off contact with Russia in certain areas

Update from March 5, 3:23 p.m .:

Despite the Russian war against Ukraine, the CDU is in favor of maintaining contact with Russia, for example in the cultural sector.

There was agreement that not all bridges to Russia should be broken here, said CDU leader Friedrich Merz on Saturday after a meeting of the CDU leadership in St. Ingbert, Saarland.

“We want to stay in contact with those who want to continue the exchange with us, especially in the cultural field.

And we should also continue it from our side, wherever possible."

"Russia is not our enemy," emphasized Merz, who is also chairman of the Union faction in the Bundestag.

“We have a despotic government there, a criminal regime that is now waging this war of aggression.” The CDU differentiates very precisely between the government and the Russian population, “from whom we hope and expect that we will continue to have good exchanges in the future and be in a good neighborhood and maybe be able to stay permanently again at some point".

CDU leader Friedrich Merz emphasizes that contact with Russia should not be broken off.

© Oliver Dietze/ dpa

In a decision passed unanimously by the CDU leadership, Putin is expressly described as a war criminal.

The International Criminal Court is asked to collect information on all hostilities in Ukraine "and to investigate any act of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes".

Saxony's Prime Minister: Contacts with Russia must not be broken off

Update from March 5, 1:47 p.m .:

Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), despite the Ukraine war, has again spoken out in favor of not breaking off all contacts with Russia.

A distinction must be made between those responsible for the war of aggression and the country and its people, Kretschmer told the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post" on Saturday.

"I don't think it's good if we break off all contacts there now, in scientific exchange, in the cultural sector." He also doesn't want people of Russian origin in Germany to "now have the feeling that we're looking at them sideways.

We have to stick together here."

Germany: Federal Transport Minister Wissing sharply condemns Ukraine war

Update from March 5, 12:56 p.m .:

Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has sharply condemned the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and promised further German help to the Ukrainian population.

The sanctions decided by the EU against the "warmongering" of Russian President Vladimir Putin would hit Russia hard, but also "have a negative impact on us," said the Rhineland-Palatinate FDP state chairman on Saturday at the digital state party conference.

"We are determined to endure this negative impact because we are defending something we hold sacred: our freedom, our democracy and human dignity."

Wissing called for an even more determined approach to the expansion of renewable and independent energies.

The EU will grow even closer together as a result of the war in Ukraine, and Germany will play a greater role in NATO in the future.

Better protection against cyber attacks is also important, and this will also be an issue in consultations with his EU colleagues this Tuesday in Paris.

"The war will change a lot and that's why we have to change too," Wissing continued.

Change processes in the areas of energy and mobility, which were planned anyway, would now probably be accelerated.

The determination of the federal government after the Russian attack surprised many last Sunday, "because we acted very quickly, very clearly and very concretely," said Wissing.

The traffic light government in Berlin is capable of acting.

War in Ukraine: Germany prepares to provide medical care to Ukrainian refugees

Update from March 5, 9:10 a.m .:

The federal government and the medical profession are preparing for the care of many Ukrainian refugees with war injuries and other treatment needs in Germany.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach * (SPD) announced on Friday that it would be distributed to the federal states.

The doctors in private practice guaranteed comprehensive and unbureaucratic care.

"We have to expect the worst here," said Lauterbach on Thursday evening.

"We have to reckon with the wounded, we have to reckon with the disabled, we have to reckon with the injured." The minister told the newspapers of the Funke media group: "In addition to the wounded of the war, there are those who lose their medical care." These included cancer or dialysis patients.

Putin's strategy also boils down to the destruction of the medical infrastructure.

“Because we are expecting a large number of cases, we will distribute the people to the federal states.

That would make sense according to the same cloverleaf principle that we used to care for Covid patients.”

Lauterbach said his thoughts were particularly with the many children whose childhoods would be cut short by the war or who would suffer the loss of family members.

"We have to do everything we can," said Lauterbach

Ukraine war: Lindner calls for maximum pressure to be exerted on Moscow

Update from March 5, 9:05 a.m .:

In view of the Russian war against Ukraine, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner is in favor of exerting the highest possible pressure on Moscow and not showing any resilience.

“Who else can calculate Vladimir Putin?

Not me," said the FDP politician of the "Rheinische Post".

“I can only give the answer: no appeasement.

With the harshness of the opportunities available to us, Russia is being isolated.

Politically, economically, financially.”

The politics of the past decades and the approach to Russia were not wrong, said Lindner.

“But some illusions have turned out to be false.

Some narratives of Russia as a victim should be critically examined.” With regard to the Ukrainian refugees, Lindner said: “When I see the pictures of the young families who get into their cars and fear for their lives, it is clear: We can and need help.

But these people want nothing more than to be able to return to their homes peacefully soon.”

Friedrich Merz on the Ukraine conflict: "None of us saw it coming"

Update from March 4th, 9:45 p.m .:

According to CDU chairman Friedrich Merz, the Russian attack on Ukraine caused a “reality shock” in Europe: “None of us saw it coming.

This is a reality shock that we have to take seriously. ”This opens a new chapter in world history, Merz said on Friday evening.

"Now it's time to stand together." This also includes accepting that the war would have an impact on the German economy, energy supply, or the cost of living.

Refugees from Ukraine must be warmly received.

CSU Vice Weber also commented

on the Russia sanctions

They would "change lives".

Baerbock tweets about the Ukraine war: "As much as it breaks our hearts"

Update from March 4, 9:00 p.m.:

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock again sharply condemned Russia's war against Ukraine: On Twitter, she explained that there was no reason for this war, except for Putin's aggressive striving for power.

"But it's not great if you attack weaker ones, bomb cities, let children die," said the Green* politician.

It is the task of the federal government and Europe to counteract this.

At the same time, Baerbock rejected NATO intervention in Ukraine.

The partners agree that no one wants the "consequent danger of limitless escalation throughout Europe".

The Foreign Minister appealed to the population to keep a cool head - "As much as it breaks our hearts."

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock strongly condemned Russia's war against Ukraine.

© Thomas Trutschel/ Imago

Update from March 4, 8:21 p.m .:

The Russian attack on the Ukrainian nuclear plant is Putin’s third nuclear threat to the West.

He detonated the atomic bomb on the financial market.

A commentary by Georg Anastasiadis*.

Germany's position in the Ukraine war: Baerbock accuses Russia of targeted attacks against people

Update from March 4, 4:17 p.m .:

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accuses Russia of targeted attacks against the people of Ukraine.

"You can clearly see that Putin's war of aggression is now aimed at taking action against the civilian population with the utmost brutality," she said on Friday afternoon during consultations with colleagues in Brussels.

"We condemn in the strongest terms what has happened in the last few hours - that the attacks continue to spread to civilian populations."

The fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin * acts "with absolute severity" against the civilian population makes it clear once again that he does not care about international agreements and international rules, added the Green politician.

According to Baerbock, humanitarian support for the Ukrainians affected by the war is now being massively expanded.

It is important to ensure that people affected by the "inhumane attacks" have access to humanitarian aid, medicine, food and water, she said.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) during his visit to the Bundeswehr Operations Command.

© Michael Kappeler/dpa

Next Ukraine attempt?

Putin gives Scholz important information

Update from March 4, 3:40 p.m.:

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke to Vladimir Putin on the phone on Friday.

"During the one-hour conversation, both of them exchanged their different points of view," explained government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.

Scholz therefore called on “the Russian leadership to immediately stop all combat operations”.

During the conversation, the Chancellor also expressed his concern about the situation in Ukraine.

There have been bad pictures and information from Ukraine for days.

Scholz therefore also asked Putin to allow humanitarian access to the contested areas.

All that was said about Putin was that he had informed the Chancellor that Russia and Ukraine had scheduled a third round of talks for this weekend.

Putin and Scholz also agreed to hold further talks in the near future.

Scholz has repeatedly condemned the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine war: Germany is feeling the effects - the number of refugees has doubled

Update from March 4, 2:47 p.m .:

Germany is feeling the effects of the Ukraine war: According to the findings of the federal police, 18,436 people have fled from Ukraine to the Federal Republic so far.

The number of daily arrivals has thus doubled within 24 hours.

Most of the arrivals are women and children, said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior on Friday in Berlin.

About 15,000 of these people are Ukrainians.

However, not all people who come from Ukraine report to the authorities.

The security authorities in Germany are also getting things to do: the protective measures at facilities in Russia and Ukraine have been “adapted to the situation”, said North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) on Friday after a conference with his counterparts from the Union-led departments in Dusseldorf.

He spoke of “other security modalities” than two weeks ago.

In the meantime, almost every fourth partnership between a German and a Russian city has apparently been suspended.

This is reported by

, citing a survey of 82 German municipalities;

61 cities responded, it said.

NATO mission in Ukraine?

Merz receives harsh criticism: "Provokes expansion to the third world war"

Update from March 4, 1:48 p.m .:

CDU leader Friedrich Merz is reaping headwind for his - initially purely hypothetical - mind game on a NATO mission in Ukraine.

Germany and NATO must not militarily allow themselves to be drawn into Russia's war against Ukraine, said Left MP Sevim Dagdelen on Friday.

Merz is talking about NATO taking part in the war, giving Ukraine false hope and provoking an "expansion into World War III between nuclear powers," she warned.

At least indirectly, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also warned against such plans.

A military intervention by NATO would be "a world catastrophe," he explained - albeit in relation to Ukrainian demands for a no-fly zone over the country.

Such a no-fly zone would have to be decided by the United Nations and the question arises as to who would control this zone, Asselborn said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also repeatedly rejected NATO participation in the conflict.

Germany in the Ukraine crisis: Embassy calls for further arms deliveries

Update from March 4, 12:17 p.m .:

Ukraine has urgently asked the federal government to supply heavy weapons to fight Russian troops.

In a verbal note to the Federal Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defense dated Thursday, the Ukrainian embassy names main battle tanks, submarines and attack helicopters, among other things.

"There is a threat of further attacks, especially on the civilian population, on an unprecedented scale," warns the embassy in the letter, quoted by the AFP news agency.

"The federal government should take this catastrophic war situation very seriously."

In the letter, the Ukrainian embassy points out that "the Russian side uses highly modern weapon systems (...) indiscriminately".

Russia has started a "war of annihilation against Ukraine and the Ukrainians" and is committing war crimes.

The German government must therefore enable Ukraine to exercise its right to self-defence, enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter, by supplying arms.

Ukraine war and Germany's reaction: Merz thinks about the NATO mission - Scholz speaks the word of power

Overview/first report:

Berlin/Brussels - The sometimes dramatic situation in the Ukraine war continues to cause great concern in Germany.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz now also believes a NATO mission in Ukraine is possible - for example if there are targeted attacks on nuclear power plants, as rumored by the Ukrainian side after an incident at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens)* has meanwhile announced further sanctions against Russia.

If nuclear power plants were attacked, "if the reactor blocks might even be hit, then we are directly threatened by the effects of this war," Merz told the broadcaster NDR Info.

In this case, NATO must consider whether this is also an attack on its own territory*.

But it's not that far, he stressed.

"There may be a situation in which NATO then also has to make decisions to stop Putin," Merz continued.

He assumes that governments, the EU and NATO will think about this scenario, said Merz.

"The attacks and the way this war is being fought are taking forms that are thought-provoking."

Merz supports Ukraine course: video

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) *, on the other hand, emphasized on Friday during a visit to the troops near Potsdam that it was clear that NATO would not take part in the conflict: "We can rule that out." It is important to "keep a cool head" and expand the to avoid conflict.

After the fire on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant site, the Ministry of the Environment* is also monitoring the situation.

The Ministry and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection declared that they would provide information about relevant developments on an ongoing basis.

"Should the BMUV have indications that a radiological emergency with significant effects is occurring in Ukraine, the federal radiological situation center in the BMUV would assess the situation, inform the public and, if necessary, give recommendations for action." Both authorities continued to advise "urgently from taking iodine tablets independently".

Ukraine war: Baerbock turns to Ukrainians - and warns Putin

Baerbock again pledged Western support to Ukraine.

"We will never leave the Ukrainians to their fate," she declared before leaving for Brussels for the meeting of foreign ministers from NATO, the G7 and the EU on Friday.

"Neither those who are defending their country on the ground, nor those who are seeking refuge outside their homeland and rely on our support to do so."

After her urgent speech on Thursday, Baerbock again warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that with his war against Ukraine "he is also ruining his own country".

"President Putin has only achieved one thing with his war: immeasurable suffering on all sides," said the Foreign Minister.

"We will continue to show him - as we did recently in New York - politically and economically that he must reckon with united action and global isolation from Russia if he continues on this course."

Ukraine war: new sanctions by Germany - and further arms deliveries?

Baerbock also announced further punitive measures for Russia.

"Beyond the three severe sanctions packages that we have already decided on, we will take further measures that target Putin's center of power," she said on Friday at the sidelines of a special meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

The Green politician did not initially give any details.

The Prime Minister of the Saarland, Tobias Hans, has meanwhile called for further arms deliveries.

Plans for Germany's missile deliveries only became known on Thursday.

Ultimately, it's also about peace in Germany and the EU, said the CDU politician on Friday in RTL/n-tv's "Frühstart".

"Ukraine needs our support, it still needs arms supplies."

The EU sanctions against Ukraine* that have been decided so far include severe economic and financial sanctions.

In addition, some oligarchs associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin have already been put on the EU sanctions list.

Among other things, this freezes their assets in the EU and restricts their freedom to travel.

(

) *