Andriy Melnyk wants to apologize to Chancellor Olaf Scholz after his “liver sausage” statement. The statement had apparently also made waves in his home country – even to Selenskyj. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war in the ticker.
9:56 p.m .: Russia wants to temporarily allow the repayment of some foreign debts in rubles in view of the sanctions pressure on its own financial system. According to a decree signed by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, obligations to holders of Russian eurobonds will in future also be considered to have been made if they were settled in rubles.
He instructed the Russian government to clarify technical details within the next ten days and to determine banks through which the payments can be processed in the future. Foreign creditors would then have to open an account with these banks, which can later convert rubles into foreign currencies.
The background to the decision are the far-reaching sanctions, including against the Russian banking system, which Western countries imposed in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The sanctions effectively exclude Russia and its banks from the financial system, which is dominated by Western states. In addition, a significant part of Russia’s financial reserves stored abroad is blocked by sanctions. These restrictions make it almost impossible for Russia to pay its creditors abroad – even though the financial means are actually there.
Since April, European countries have had to pay for Russian gas supplies in rubles by order of Putin. To do this, western gas buyers have to open an account with Russia’s state-owned Gazprombank and deposit euros there. Gazprombank then settles the sum in rubles and pays it to Gazprom.
At the end of May, Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov then proposed a corresponding concept for paying off foreign debts – only the other way around: Russia deposits rubles into the bank, which converts them into euros or dollars, and the bondholders then receive foreign currency. According to Siluanow, this should primarily serve to circumvent western payment systems.
At the beginning of May, Melnyk criticized Scholz’s provisional no to a trip to Kyiv with the words: “Playing an insulted liver sausage doesn’t sound very statesmanlike.” After much hesitation, Scholz finally visited Ukraine in mid-June.
The ambassador also said that the statement had also caused a nuisance in the Ukrainian government. “My president was not amused,” Melnyk said of Volodymyr Zelensky’s reaction. He also had to explain his statement to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
9.40 a.m .: The FDP foreign politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff currently considers the threat to the Baltic EU and NATO countries from Russia to be lower than before the attack on Ukraine began. “As impossible as that sounds, but with a very sober analysis, one has to realize that the military resources that are normally concentrated in the western group of Soviet forces are now deployed in Ukraine,” he said on RBB station Inforadio on Wednesday .
“In this respect, the probability that our Bundeswehr will be drawn into a direct military confrontation is even lower than usual,” Lambsdorff explained. The background to the debate are open threats by Moscow against Lithuania regarding restrictions on freight traffic to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Moscow described this as a “hostile action” by Lithuania and reserved the right to react, which was initially not described in detail. Of course, such verbal attacks against a NATO and EU country worried, said Lambsdorff. He assumes, however, that it is “propaganda”. “We have to deal with that. This is precisely intended to create uncertainty.”
8:41 a.m .: Indonesian President Joko Widodo will travel to Russia and Ukraine next week. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi announced on Wednesday that the politician will meet with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Southeast Asian island state holds the G20 presidency this year. Widodo is the first head of state from Asia to visit the two countries since the start of the war in Ukraine, Marsudi said.
First of all, Widodo will take part in the G7 summit on June 26th and 27th at Schloss Elmau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The minister did not say exactly when he would travel to Moscow and Kyiv. “The visit is a demonstration of the President’s humanitarian concerns and part of efforts to address the food crisis caused by the war, the effects of which are being felt in all countries,” Marsudi said.
Indonesia has so far not publicly criticized Russia for the invasion. The country has also failed to comply with calls from the US and other western countries to exclude Russia from the G20. However, the government invited Zelenskyy to the G20 summit in Bali in November, even though Ukraine is not a member.
5:00 a.m.: The federal government rules out accession to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. Such a step would not be compatible with the obligations arising from Germany’s NATO membership, according to a response to a minor question from left-wing MP Sevim Dagdelen. “Disarmament must take into account the security policy environment,” the government said. Russia’s attack on Ukraine shows the dangers emanating from Moscow. At the same time, the federal government emphasized that it shares the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty, in force since 2021, outlaws the development, possession and threat of nuclear weapons. The 65 contracting states to date will meet for a first conference in Vienna by Thursday.
Although Germany has no nuclear weapons, some US nuclear warheads are stationed in the Federal Republic as part of nuclear sharing. “As long as nuclear weapons pose a threat to Germany and its allies, there will continue to be a need for credible deterrence within the framework of NATO and nuclear sharing,” the federal government said.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022, 3:11 a.m .: Against the background of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has warned of a serious economic crisis. “There is a risk of a very serious economic crisis due to the sharp rise in energy prices, due to supply chain problems, due to inflation,” he said on Tuesday evening on ZDF’s “heute journal”.
“My concern is that in a few weeks and months we could have a very worrying situation,” the minister said. “And in this situation we must not be picky. It’s about three to four, maybe five years of shortages and we have to find an answer for that.” It is therefore necessary to talk about all possibilities, including extended operating times for the three nuclear power plants in Germany that are still operational.
Against the background of the lack of gas deliveries from Russia, the FDP is calling for the continued operation of the three German nuclear power plants still in operation to be checked at least once more. The SPD and the Greens, on the other hand, see no reason to deviate from the nuclear phase-out schedule. According to current nuclear law, the three remaining nuclear power plants must be taken off the grid by the end of December at the latest.
In the traffic light coalition there is currently “no agreement” on this question, but no dispute, said the FDP leader. “In any case, I’m not satisfied that we are extending the climate-damaging coal, but not even considering the possibilities of nuclear energy,” he said.
With regard to the lack of Russian gas supplies, Lindner emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not have us in his hands, we are the designers of our destiny”. Germany can diversify its energy supply, close other supply chains and act freely. In addition, domestic gas and oil deposits could be used. “There must be no taboos when it comes to controlling price developments for people,” said Lindner.
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