Due to the uprising in Russia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs postponed her departure for a day. Some important dates will be cancelled.
Berlin (AP) — Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is cutting short her planned two-day trip to South Africa due to the power struggle in Russia. The minister had “postponed her planned departure for South Africa for a day in order to attend a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday morning in view of the latest developments in Russia”, indicated a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. Baerbock now plans to leave for South Africa on Monday afternoon.
The dates planned in Cape Town will be cancelled. The minister wants to chair a meeting of the German-South African binational commission, which meets every two years, with Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday in the capital Pretoria. Baerbock originally wanted to visit a Cape Town company on Monday that is part of the German-funded World Health Organization (WHO) vaccination centre. This is intended to promote the expansion of vaccine production on the African continent.
According to his house, Baerbock had discussed the situation on Saturday with the foreign ministers of the other G7 countries due to developments in Russia. Besides Germany, the G7 countries of economically strong democracies also include France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United States and Great Britain. A crisis team met at the Federal Foreign Office.
The power struggle between the Russian government and Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private Wagner army had previously escalated. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine for 16 months. In addition to the Russian professional army, the Wagnerian mercenaries were also an important unit in combat.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:230625-99-175463/2
Food geek. Organizer. Tv advocate. Friend of animals everywhere. Devoted thinker. Problem solver. Wannabe pop culture practitioner.