German FM Annalena Baerbock emphasizes security for countries on Baltic
Wismar, Germany(dpa) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has emphasized the close security cooperation of the nations on the Baltic Sea in light of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
“The security of each of us is the security of all of us – also here in the Baltic Sea region,” Baerbock said on Thursday at the beginning of the meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS).
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The foreign ministers from the Baltic Sea nations met in the historic city of Wismar on Germany’s Baltic coast. Baerbock said that the war in Ukraine was also a turning point for the region and the council in particular.
Russia’s membership in the CBSS was suspended at the beginning of March 2022. Moscow then declared its withdrawal in May 2022. Until the invasion of Ukraine, the Baltic Council was one of the diplomatic circles in which concrete cooperation on technical issues with Moscow was possible.
German Minister of Housing Klara Geywitz highlighted the direct effects of the war both for critical infrastructure and the refugee situation in cities and municipalities.
Geywitz said an accelerated energy turnaround was needed to make the region independent of fossil fuels.
The ministers for spatial planning of the Baltic Sea states are meeting at the same time in the city that was a member of the powerful Hanseatic League for centuries, and the consequences of the war are also a major influence during their talks.
The Council of the Baltic Sea States was founded in 1992 and has its headquarters in Stockholm. It is made up of Germany, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Iceland and the European Union. Germany holds the presidency of the CBSS until July.
