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Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU)
Photo: Robert Michael / dpa
A statement by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) at the Council of Europe is still causing displeasure three days later.
On Tuesday in Strasbourg, Baerbock called on Western countries to stick together: "We are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other."
Russia was surprised at the direct choice of words - now Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) is also criticizing Baerbock for her statements on Russia.
'The Secretary of State is our senior diplomat.
She has to weigh up her words," said Kretschmer of the "Sächsische Zeitung".
"In the current situation, we cannot allow ourselves to make ambiguous statements." He called for "clarification."
»Russia is the aggressor in this war«
However, Kretschmer's criticism should not be taken as partisanship with the Kremlin.
"Russia is the aggressor in this war," the prime minister continued.
"We're helping the attacked Ukraine, that's what it is and that's what you should always call it: support in self-defence."
In Russia itself, the Baerbock saying was interpreted differently.
The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, demanded an explanation from the German ambassador in Moscow about "contradictory" statements from Berlin.
On the one hand, Germany declares that it is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine.
On the other hand, Baerbock says that the countries of Europe are at war with Russia.
“Do you understand what you are talking about?” Zakharova wrote on the Telegram news channel.
The Russian state media also gratefully took up the statement as a central key phrase for war propaganda - as proof that Germany and the other EU countries are direct conflict parties in Ukraine and are fighting against Russia.
The State Department downplayed the Baerbock sentence when asked.
“Russia is waging a brutal war against Ukraine.
This is also a war against the European peace order and international law,” says the written response to SPIEGEL.
Baerbock emphasized that Europe must stick together.
And: "Supporting Ukraine in exercising its individual right of self-defense against Russia's war of aggression, which violates international law, does not make Germany a party to the conflict, as enshrined in the UN Charter."
mrc/dpa