There is still a problem with the ring exchange for tank deliveries to Ukraine. As far as the negotiations with the Czech Republic are concerned, however, Foreign Minister Baerbock sees progress. However, the Greens clearly reject a direct delivery of German tanks - the material is simply missing.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has accused Russia of trying to completely subdue Ukraine. "No one can now claim that Russia is about anything other than the complete subjugation of Ukraine and its people," said Baerbock in Prague. She admitted that the planned tank ring exchange with several EU partners in favor of Ukraine is currently not working due to a lack of stocks.
"The most recent statements by the Russian foreign minister have once again shown the Russian leadership's deep contempt for Ukraine's democratic self-determination," said Baerbock. Contrary to earlier statements, Lavrov said in Cairo on Sunday that Moscow was aiming for a change of government in Ukraine.
The EU is all the more united on the side of Ukraine, said Baerbock. "In Ukraine, our freedom, our way of life, our values are defended," emphasized the minister. Baerbock welcomed the fact that the Panzer ring exchange with the Czech Republic was "on the right track". The Czech Republic has already delivered to Ukraine.
A contract is currently being drawn up "on how we can fill this in from the German side via the industry," said Baerbock. "They're not all on the shelf," she added. Direct deliveries of tanks from Germany to Ukraine are not planned. "We know we don't have enough material in our own inventory to supply this directly ourselves," Baerbock said.
The idea of ring exchange is to deliver quickly. "We have to see that this also happens with the other ring exchanges," she said. The Foreign Minister met her Czech colleague Jan Lipavsky in Prague. They wanted to visit the Lidice memorial together in the morning to commemorate the victims of the destruction of the village by the National Socialists in 1942. In the afternoon, Baerbock travels to neighboring Slovakia.
