German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock, against the background of President Donald Trump’s statements about Vladimir Zelensky and Ukraine, called for increased pressure on the United States and mentioned in this regard the policy of “Zeitenwende” (change of era, turning point), during which all ties with the Russian Federation were severed, she said during an election event in Potsdam.
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High-level Russian-American talks were held in Riyadh on Tuesday. During the first face-to-face talks in a long time, the parties agreed to create conditions for the full resumption of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States and its expansion into new areas of mutual interest. In particular, Moscow and Washington agreed to eliminate artificial restrictions on the work of embassies and other foreign institutions, and to create high-level working groups to begin work on an early resolution of the crisis in Ukraine.
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“Three years ago, we said: this is Zeitenwende. Now we need a second Zeitenwende – no more hesitation and delay for the sake of our peace,” she said, commenting on the US–Russia talks on Ukraine.
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At the same time, Burbock, in the context of German-American relations, called for waiting for further developments, as “nothing has been decided yet.”
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“We will increase the pressure on Americans so that they understand that they have as much to lose as possible if they stop supporting the liberal democracies of Europe,” she stressed.
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The minister added that, in her opinion, no one has the right “to make decisions about war and peace bypassing Ukrainians or us, Europeans – and this is a clear position of Germany.”
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The term change of epochs was previously introduced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after the outbreak of its conflict in Ukraine, as part of this policy, Berlin unilaterally froze all relations with Moscow and shifted its focus from cheap Russian gas to expensive LNG from the United States.
