Germany's Baerbock warns US of pressuring Ukraine into peace deal
Outgoing German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday called on US President Donald Trump not to force Ukraine into a peace agreement with Russia, after Moscow unilaterally announced a three-day truce for early May.
"It cannot be in the interests of one of the world's biggest players, the US, either, to conclude a deal, a pact, that leads to further aggression," Baerbock said on the sidelines of a meeting on ramping up defence in the Baltic region on Denmark's Bornholm island.
Ministers from the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8), along with counterparts from Germany, Poland, and France, are meeting in Bornholm to discuss security and cooperation in the Baltic Sea.
"We need a reliable, lasting peace," Baerbock said, adding that this was what the Europeans stand for.
The German top diplomat also noted recent attacks on data cables in the Baltic Sea, widely attributed to Russia, or the so-called Russian shadow fleet used to circumvent sanctions, as threats to the region.
These hybrid attacks showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn't interested in cooperation but in further aggression, Baerbock said.
"After three years of war, the announcement of a three-day ceasefire cannot hide the fact that the Russian president has set his sight on our European peace order," she warned.
Increased cooperation among Baltic partners was therefore an investment in common security, she added, stressing the importance of strong German leadership to maintain peace in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday unilaterally declared a three-day ceasefire to last from May 8.
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