Berlin ignored warning about danger of Russia, - head of German Foreign Ministry Baerbock
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, recognized the shortcomings of Berlin’s foreign policy towards Russia, in particular, its reluctance to heed the warnings of its Eastern European partners.
Baerbock made such an assessment in a column for The Guardian, Censor.NET reports with reference to "European Pravda".
The head of the German Foreign Ministry emphasized that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally changed the way Germany perceives threats to its own security and perceives its own responsibility in the modern world.
"For decades, the German government has practiced so-called 'checkbook diplomacy' - the belief that our money, not soldiers, should help resolve conflicts," she said.
Russia's full-scale invasion, according to Baerbock, led to a change in the way Berlin perceives threats to its own security in the very center of Europe and realizes that "our security is not a given."
"For too long, we have not heeded the warnings of our eastern neighbors who urged us to take seriously the threats emanating from Russia. We have learned that 'hope for the best' is not enough when you are dealing with a leader who is becoming increasingly authoritarian," - Burbok admitted.
"Despite all our efforts aimed at building a European security architecture with Russia, our economic and political interaction also did not incline the Russian regime to democracy," she added.
Summing up, the head of German diplomacy emphasized that Russia's aggressive war has opened a new chapter for Germany, rethinking how we seek to promote peace, freedom and stability in this world – as a partner that recognizes its own leadership.
