The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

"Belongs to Europe": Baerbock gives Bosnia hope - and threatens Putin ally

2022-03-11T04:40:28.169Z


"Belongs to Europe": Baerbock gives Bosnia hope - and threatens Putin ally Created: 03/11/2022 05:33 By: Florian Naumann, Stephanie Munk Annalena Baerbock traveled to the Balkans (archive picture). © Kay Nietfeld/dpa In the middle of the Ukraine war, Foreign Minister Baerbock travels to the Balkans for several days. According to Baerbock, the region is the "open flank" of Europe that Putin cou


"Belongs to Europe": Baerbock gives Bosnia hope - and threatens Putin ally

Created: 03/11/2022 05:33

By: Florian Naumann, Stephanie Munk

Annalena Baerbock traveled to the Balkans (archive picture).

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

In the middle of the Ukraine war, Foreign Minister Baerbock travels to the Balkans for several days.

According to Baerbock, the region is the "open flank" of Europe that Putin could push into next.

Update from March 10, 10:48 a.m .:

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) wants to tie the Western Balkans more closely to the EU in view of the Ukraine war.

She emphasized this in the morning at a meeting with her Bosnian-Herzegovinian colleague Bisera Turkovic.

"This country belongs to Europe." That's why we have to work together intensively and faster on the prospect of accession.

At the same time, Baerbock reprimanded nationalist tendencies and, barely concealed, the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik.

In the future, there will only be support for those who are committed to strengthening the country and not for those who want to weaken and destabilize it, said the Green politician.

In the past few months, Dodik has been working on separating the Serbian part of the country from the Bosnian state federation.

He enjoys the support of Russia.

Bosnia, which was hit by a bloody war that killed 100,000 people as a result of the collapse of Yugoslavia, has prospects of joining the EU, but not yet candidate status.

Turkovic called for an abbreviated procedure for granting candidate status and a date for the start of accession negotiations.

"We believe that this would be a strong contribution to peace in Bosnia (...) and in Europe," she said.

The Western Balkans are currently “a weak point in Europe”.

Baerbock travels to the Balkans - and warns Putin: "We will not leave this region to Russia"

Preliminary report:

Sarajevo - The Ukraine war* currently determines the agenda of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock* (Greens).

It also has something to do with the fact that she left for a trip to the Balkans on Thursday.

Many countries in the western Balkans have been "disappointed and neglected in recent years," Baerbock explained in advance, warning: "Actors like Russia, who have no interest in a European future and do not shy away from unresolved conflicts, are pushing into this open flank to stoke again.”

The Foreign Minister is visiting Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and Moldova within two days.

Before her departure, she called for more European engagement in the Western Balkans region.

"The Russian attack on Ukraine is a turning point that clearly shows that Europe must be prepared to invest strategically in its long-term security," Baerbock said.

This also applies to relations with the countries of the Western Balkans.

Baerbock in the Balkans: Moldova as Putin's next target after Ukraine?

Germany has a "fundamental interest in a politically stable and economically prosperous Western Balkans, whose states are oriented towards Europe," she emphasized.

The federal government will work to achieve this, for example with strategic investments, especially in renewable energies.

The aim of their trip is to "listen" to the people in the Western Balkans in order to find out "what the people there now expect from us - but also to make it clear that we will not leave this region in the heart of Europe to Moscow's influence". .

also read

Ukraine War: How Taiwan uses Russian aggression for its own interests

Charm offensive from Taipei: In the Ukraine war, Taiwan expresses its solidarity with the victims of the Russian attack.

That could help the island state against the aggressor China.

Ukraine War: How Taiwan uses Russian aggression for its own interests

Eastern Europe expert on Putin in the Ukraine war: "We have to prepare for the bad"

In the IPPEN.MEDIA interview, Eastern Europe expert Prof. Dr.

Martin Schulze Wessel his assessment of the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin.

Eastern Europe expert on Putin in the Ukraine war: "We have to prepare for the bad"

During her trip, she also wanted to get a "direct picture of the situation on site" in the Republic of Moldova, Baerbock explained.

As a neighboring country of Ukraine, Moldova is feeling the effects of the Russian war of aggression “one of the hardest”.

There are fears that after invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin* could be targeting Moldova* next.

Baerbock emphasized: "We will not allow the shock waves caused by Russia to spill over to other countries in Europe.

Moldova can rely on German and European solidarity.”

In the past few days, Europe has shown "that it is capable of acting and determined to counter the aggressive actions of the Russian President," said Baerbock.

"Now we have to show that we are ready with the same energy to get involved in a creative and future-oriented manner in the countries in the European neighborhood."

Baerbock in the Balkans: meeting with genocide victims and German soldiers

Baerbock met her Bosnian-Herzegovinian counterpart Bisera Turkovic on Thursday.

Against the background of an impending further destabilization of Bosnia*, the Green politician wants to campaign for an orientation towards Europe.

Baerbock also wanted to meet with the high representative of the international community, ex-CSU politician Christian Schmidt.

Schmidt had recently warned of a split in the country in view of the nationalist tendencies of the Serb leader Milorad Dodik* and brought up personal sanctions by the EU.

Baerbock also wants to meet with representatives of the victims' organization "Mothers of Srebrenica".

During the Srebrenica genocide in the Bosnian war in 1995, Serbian troops overran the UN protection zone there and then murdered more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys.

The massacre is considered the worst war crime in Europe since the end of World War II.

In the afternoon, Baerbock wants to hold talks with President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo.

A meeting with representatives of the NATO mission KFOR and with soldiers from the German contingent was also planned.

As part of the KFOR mission, up to 400 German forces can be sent to Kosovo.

Around 70 Bundeswehr soldiers are currently tasked with ensuring public order in the country and supporting the establishment of a civil peace order.

All information on the Ukraine conflict can be found in the news ticker on the negotiations in the Ukraine war and on the military situation in the Ukraine war.

All information about the background of the Ukraine crisis* can be found here.

(AFP/dpa/smu) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-03-11

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.