Germany states that Russia could face

Germany states that Russia could face “massive effects in an invasion by Ukraine. 

The new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters on Tuesday that Russia could face “massive effects” in an invasion into Ukraine. 

However, she also stated that Kyiv’s territorial integrity should not be compromised.

Baerbock has called for an “open and sincere” dialog with Russia regarding the Ukraine crisis in her conversation she had with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the German Foreign Ministry said.

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The conversation was only the second publically known communication with Berlin with Moscow since the coalition government headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz began its term last week.

“We need honest and transparent dialog,” Baerbock’s ministry wrote on Twitter following the conference. “The territorial integrity of Ukraine should not be infringed upon.”

In a press conference held in Stockholm in which she met her Swedish and Norwegian colleagues, Baerbock said: “Any kind of interference in sovereign rights of Ukraine could have huge consequences on the Russian regime – both of both a diplomatic and economic nature.”

The German Foreign Ministry also called for progress during what is known as Normandy talks for resolving the Ukraine crisis. 

It also said that visa-free travel for the young Russians was also discussed in the conference.

Statements by each side didn’t refer to the proposed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will transport Russian natural gas from Russia to Germany and bypass Ukraine. However, it hasn’t been approved due to regulatory obstacles.

Poland and The United States have demanded a stop to the pipeline in case Russia attacks Ukraine. 

However, the new German government hasn’t declared a commitment in writing to stop it.

Ukraine claims Russia gathered around 100,000 troops to prepare for war, prompting concerns that a simmering war within Ukraine’s Eastern Donbas region could turn into a war between two countries.

Russia has denied any plans to attack but has accused Ukraine and the United States of destabilizing behavior and demanded security guarantees to stop NATO’s expansion to the east.

Lavrov reiterated that request in his conversation with Baerbock in a statement by The Russian Foreign Ministry said in an announcement.

“In the discussion of current issues that are on the international agenda, the Russian party emphasized the necessity of providing our nation with security assurances by way of legal obligations not to expand NATO eastwards, and to not relocate the NATO’s military infrastructures to Russia’s boundaries,” the statement said.

Karen Donfried, the United States assistant secretary of state, met with the top Ukrainian representatives on Tuesday, offering assistance in the face of the Russian military expansion.