German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to stop the war in Ukraine.
Baerbock made a statement to reporters in Brazil, where she is staying on the occasion of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.
Addressing Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, Baerbock said:
“Mr. Lavrov, if you care about human lives, if you care about your own people, Russian children and youth, you must immediately end this war. If Russia ended this war now, the way would be open for peace and justice, which all we are looking for.”
Claiming that Russia, a member of the G20, has carelessly exposed the world to its worst war in two years, Baerbock said:
“The Russian war caused terrible suffering to the Ukrainian people, especially the most vulnerable women and children, by the deliberate bombing of maternity hospitals, schools and kindergartens. Thousands of children died in Ukraine. They were kidnapped from Ukraine and taken to Russia, their names were changed so that their mothers could not find them .”
Claiming that Russia is blocking Ukrainian food exports and mercilessly using food as a weapon, Baerbock said it is affecting the world’s poorest people, women and children, the most.
Baerbock said a humanitarian pause was needed to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Emphasizing the importance of seeing pain from both sides and understanding that humanity is indivisible, Baerbock said:
“There is no such thing as Christian, Muslim or Jewish blood. There is only human blood.”
Baerbock stated that there is a need for a solution that will enable both Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace and security, and this, she pointed out, is possible with a two-state solution.
