German foreign minister admits Berlin made mistakes on Ukraine

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – The war in Ukraine has been a wake-up call for Germany, which must do all it can to meet its security responsibilities in Europe and Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister told the Warsaw Security Forum on Tuesday.

“Germany didn’t listen carefully enough to the right assessment about Russia. But we have changed our course and made crystal clear in the last six months and have defined a new Russia strategy. We hear the critical voices,” said Annalena Baerbock.

Early in the war, which Russia started on Feb. 24, Germany was criticized for being reluctant to help Ukraine militarily.

“The EU defense concept has changed, and a stronger EU-NATO alliance is a good sign, but we have to invest more in our own security,” Baerbock added.

​​​​​​​“We as a new government must meet our targets. We as social welfare states have invested in society not warfare, as Russia did. But now we, Germany, are investing $100 billion on our own security. We need to be capable of defending ourselves without US support. During this crisis, we are working on making our common defenses stronger,” she said.

The two-day forum in the Polish capital, which ends tomorrow, brings together top politicians and defense industry representatives from the EU and US.