Germany recently warned Russia of "massive consequences" if Moscow continues its aggression on Ukraine after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.
The talk between the two officials is where Baerbock told Lavrov that the "territorial integrity of Ukraine must not be violated." In a Twitter post, the German Foreign Ministry announced the phone call between the two diplomats that brought the issue of the ongoing crisis on the Russian-Ukrainian border to the surface.
Russia's Potential Invasion of Ukraine
Russia has spent the last few weeks raising fears of its potential attempts to invade Ukraine by amassing forces on the border. Despite growing concerns among various international governments, Moscow has denied any plans to attack and instead accused Kyiv of being the aggressor.
Amid the rising tensions, the United States federal government has threatened Russia with the "strongest-ever sanctions" if it decided to invade Ukraine. The German Foreign Ministry posted on Twitter that Baerbock sought an "honest and open exchange" with her Russian counterpart, urging Moscow to go back to peace with Ukraine, Deutsche Welle reported.
The phone call between Baerbock and Lavrov is the first publicly announced contact between Germany and Moscow since last week when Chancellor Olaf Scholz's new coalition government took control of the country's government. The German foreign minister later said that Russia will suffer economic and diplomatic consequences if it conducted any form of intervention of Ukraine's sovereignty.
Baerbock made her statements during a subsequent press conference in Stockholm where she met with the foreign ministers of Sweden and Norway. Additionally, the German official also urged for progress in the Normandy talks on resolving the Ukraine crisis. Baerbock said that visa-free travel for young Russian citizens was also considered as well as cooperation on hydrogen.
Neither the German or Russian foreign minister commented on Moscow's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which aims to carry Russia's natural gas to Germany, bypassing Ukraine. However, it has not been certified due to struggling with regulations, Reuters reported.
Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline has received pushback from Poland and the United States who have demanded it to be stopped if Moscow invades Ukraine. Scholz's new government has not made a public commitment regarding the issue just yet.
The international controversy comes as Ukraine claims that Russia has amassed roughly 100,000 troops near its border in preparation for a potential invasion. The situation has caused fears of possible open war between the neighbors in the region.
Amid Russia's denial of the allegations, it accused the United States government of destabilizing behavior along with Ukraine. Moscow has sought security guarantees against NATO's eastward expansion.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Lavrov echoed the demand in his phone call with Baerbock. Moscow's ministry said that they were prioritizing the need to provide itself with security guarantees in the form of "legal commitments not to expand NATO eastwards and not to move the bloc's military infrastructure to Russia's borders. The situation also comes after the United States assistant secretary of state Karen Donfried met with top Ukrainian officials to offer America's support, Yahoo News reported.
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