Wednesday

6th Dec 2023

Germany: Russia is 'partner' despite UK attack

  • Putin got six more years in office on Sunday (Photo: kremlin.ru)

Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, has pledged solidarity with the UK, while describing Russia as "a difficult partner".

He spoke ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday (19 March), one day after Russian leader Vladimir Putin secured six more years in power and in the wake of British allegations that Russia poisoned a former spy in the UK using a nerve toxin.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Maas (r): "Russia will remain a difficult partner" (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

Maas said it was up to Russia and the UK to clarify details of the evidence "bilaterally", but added that "all the information we have suggests there is no alternative plausible explanation" than that Russia did it.

He said Germany and other EU states would make clear they were "firmly on the side of Great Britain".

He added that "dialogue" with Russia ought to continue, however.

"We assume that Russia will remain a difficult partner," he said. "Russia is … needed when it comes to solving major international conflicts. That is why we want to stay in dialogue, but we expect constructive contributions from Russia," he said.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, also spoke out.

He said on Monday there was "no other plausible explanation" than that Russia had tried to poison Sergei Skripal, its former spy, and pledged "solidarity with Great Britain".

The British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, is to brief EU ministers on the issue at Monday's meeting, an EU source said.

The Russian election will also be mentioned, but a more substantial debate on EU-Russia relations will take place either at an EU summit later this week or at another foreign ministers' meeting in the coming months, the source said.

Johnson gave a foretaste of what he might say at Monday's EU gathering going into the event.

He said Russian claims, that Novichok, a Russian nerve toxin used in the attack, could also have come from the Czech Republic, Sweden, the UK itself, or the US were "absurd".

"This is a classic Russian strategy of trying to hide the needle of truth in a haystack of lies and obfuscation", he said.

He said he was "heartened" by EU support so far, adding: "There isn't a single country around the table here [in Brussels] that hasn't been affected in recent times by some form of malign or disruptive Russian behaviour".

He spoke after the Russian ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, suggested to the BBC on Sunday that the UK might have poisoned Skripal.

Putin said in Moscow the same day: "It's complete nonsense to imagine that anyone in Russia could resort to such tricks ahead of the presidential elections and World Cup".

Putin result

Preliminary counting showed Putin won 76 percent of the vote in an election that had excluded all serious contenders and that saw a pro-Putin media blitz.

"The election campaign in Russia has been rigged to president Putin's advantage, including government control over the media and opposition parties who are prevented from applying," Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstroem said on Sunday.

The EU foreign service noted that Europe would not recognise that part of the election held in Russia-occupied Crimea in Ukraine.

EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini added that ministers would pledge political and financial backing for Ukraine on Monday.

Ukraine support

"I was in Kiev exactly one week ago to pass the message of full support both to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and the non-recognition policy of the annexation of Crimea," she said.

The Minsk peace agreement says Russia must pull out troops and weapons from Ukraine and hand back control of the border to Kiev, among other conditions.

The EU has said it will not relax sanctions on Russia until this take place.

Correction: This story, originally entitled "Russia poisoning is not EU concern, Germany says", had reported that German foreign minister Heiko Maas called the Skripal case a "bilateral" matter. In fact, he pledged solidarity with the UK, but said cooperation on evidence should be handled bilaterally. EUobserver amended the article after a clarification by the German EU embassy

EU summit takes hard look at Russia

EU leaders will discuss Russian security threats in the wake of the UK attack, but will not adopt new sanctions at Thursday's summit.

Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head

Afghanistan is a "forever emergency" rendered worse by an isolated country intent on dismantling human rights, says UN refugee agency (UNHCR) representative for the country, Leonard Zulu.

Latest News

  1. EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers
  2. Orbán's Ukraine-veto threat escalates ahead of EU summit
  3. Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?
  4. Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
  5. Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
  6. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  7. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  8. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us