German Foreign Minister Analene Berbock accused Russia upon her arrival in Malta for the meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) of playing a "cynical game", DPA reported, BTA reported.
"Just as Russia used bombs and drones to attack peace and security in Europe, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wants to apply this to the OSCE," Berbock said before the start of the two-day meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The OSCE remains an important piece of the puzzle for ensuring peace, freedom and security in Europe, the foreign minister said.
"We will not allow Putin to blow up our common peace, to turn it into dust and ashes, nor will we allow Russia to play its cynical game here without reacting to it," said Berbock, rejecting the claim that Russia's isolation had been softened after a phone call between Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The international community must continue to oppose Russia's "hybrid war game", she added.
Earlier today, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned in a speech to the Bundestag (German parliament) that Russia poses a growing military threat to Germany and its allies. "Russia has completely switched to a military economy and is supplying its army with 1,000 to 1,500 tanks every year. That's about twice as many as the five largest European countries combined have in their inventory," Pistorius said.
"For us, one thing is certain: Russia is the biggest threat to our security and it will remain so for the foreseeable future," he stressed. Pistorius spoke in support of several pieces of defense legislation proposed by the German government. One of the bills would provide better pay for German soldiers and civilian personnel stationed in Lithuania, as part of Berlin's new commitment to station a brigade in the Baltic country to protect NATO's eastern flank. According to another proposal, the activities of former German soldiers for the benefit of foreign powers, such as Russia or China, without the express prior approval of the Ministry of Defense, would be declared illegal, DPA notes.