MUNICH: German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said Friday ahead of the annual Munich Security Conference on the Ukraine crisis that Russia’s demands, dating back to the Cold War, endanger Europe’s security.
“With its unprecedented deployment on the border with Ukraine and Cold War demands, Russia is challenging the basic principles of the European peaceful order,” Belbok said in a statement.

She added that Moscow must take “serious steps to de-escalate the situation”.

Starting Friday, dozens of world leaders and top diplomats will arrive in the southern German city of Munich for three days of talks on defense and security issues.

The meeting comes amid growing concerns in the West that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, escalating tensions with Moscow to a post-Cold War peak.

Heading to Munich are US Vice President Kamala Harris, US Secretary of State Blinken, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, European Commission President von der Leyen, NATO President Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian President Zelens base.

Russia has so far refused to participate.

“I’m going to Munich today to discuss how we can use the logic of dialogue to counteract the threat of violence and the logic of military escalation,” Berbock said on the eve of the opening ceremony.

“It’s a loss for Russia not to take this opportunity.”

‘unit‘

Foreign ministers from the G7 including France, Britain, the United States and Japan will discuss the Ukraine crisis during a meeting in Munich on Saturday.

The talks will be chaired by Berbock, who currently holds the G7 presidency.

“We will use Munich to send a message of solidarity: we are ready to have a serious conversation about the safety of all,” she said.

“Even a small step towards peace is better than a giant step towards war. But we also need serious detente from Russia,” she added.

“A statement of willingness to talk must be backed by a genuine talk proposal. A statement of withdrawal must be backed by a verifiable withdrawal,” she said.

The U.S. and other Western governments have said they have seen no evidence to support Russia’s claim that some troops are being withdrawn from near the Ukrainian border.

Russia denies any invasion plans.

But Putin has made it clear that the price of removing any threat is that Ukraine agrees to never join NATO and that the Western alliance will withdraw from parts of Eastern Europe, effectively turning the continent into a Cold War-style sphere of influence.

Far from joining NATO, Ukraine has pledged to do so as part of a broader goal of integration with Western European democracies, marking a historic break with Russia’s sphere of influence.

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