KYIV: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “playing for time” in negotiations over the war in Ukraine as she arrived on a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
“Ukraine is ready for an immediate ceasefire. It is Putin who is playing for time, does not want peace and is continuing his war of aggression, which is a violation of international law,” Baerbock said in a statement shared by her ministry.
“He is feigning a willingness to negotiate, but not deviating an inch from his goals,” she said on her ninth visit to Ukraine since the start of the war.
On March 11, Ukraine, whose army is struggling on the frontline, and the United States agreed a plan for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
But Putin has rejected the US proposal and has upped his rhetoric on Moscow wanting to install new leadership in Ukraine.
Baerbock was visiting Kyiv for the first time since the re-election of US President Donald Trump, who has upended US-Europe relations by reaching out to Russia over European heads to seek an end to the conflict.
The shift in policy has sparked concern over the future of the NATO alliance and prompted Europe to focus on boosting its own defense capabilities and upping its support for Ukraine.
Germany in March approved three billion euros ($3.25 billion) in new military aid for Ukraine after adopting a major new spending package that eased its traditionally strict debt rules.
“In view of the deadlock between the United States and Russia, it is absolutely vital that we Europeans show that we stand by Ukraine’s side... and support it now more than ever,” Baerbock said.
Commemorations were held in Ukraine on Monday in the city of Bucha, where Russia’s army is accused of murdering hundreds of civilians three years ago.
Putin ‘playing for time’, says German FM in Kyiv
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Putin ‘playing for time’, says German FM in Kyiv
- ‘Ukraine is ready for an immediate ceasefire. It is Putin who is playing for time …’
- ‘He is feigning a willingness to negotiate, but not deviating an inch from his goals’
Greek coast guard search for 15 after migrant boat found adrift
- The two survivors reported that the vessel had become unstable due to bad weather and there was no means of getting shelter, food or water
ATHENS: Greek coast guard were on Monday searching for 15 people who fell into the water from a migrant boat that was found drifting off the coast of Crete with 17 bodies on board.
The 17 fatalities, all of them men, were discovered on Saturday on the craft, which was taking on water and partially deflated, some 26 nautical miles (48 kilometers) southwest of the island.
Post-mortem examinations were being carried out to determine how they died but Greek public television channel ERT suggested they may have suffered from hypothermia or dehydration.
A Greek coast guard spokeswoman told AFP that two survivors reported that “15 people fell in the water” after the motor cut out on Thursday, then the vessel drifted for two days.
At the time, Crete and much of the rest of Greece was battered by heavy rain and storms.
The two survivors reported that the vessel had become unstable due to bad weather and there was no means of getting shelter, food or water.
The vessel had 34 people on board and had left the Libyan port of Tobruk on Wednesday, the Greek port authorities said. Most of those who died came from Sudan and Egypt.
It was initially spotted by a Turkish-flagged cargo ship on Saturday, triggering a search that included ships and aircraft from the Greek coast guard and the European Union border agency Frontex.
Migrants have been trying to reach Crete from Libya for the last year, as a way of entering the European Union. But the Mediterranean crossing is perilous.
In Brussels, the EU’s 27 members on Monday backed a significant tightening of immigration policy, including the concept of returning failed asylum-seekers to “return hubs” outside the bloc.
The UN refugee agency said more than 16,770 asylum seekers in the EU have arrived on Crete since the start of the year — more than any other island in the Aegean Sea.
Greece’s conservative government has also toughened its migration policy, suspending asylum claims for three months, particularly those coming to Crete from Libya.
