Poland expects Germany to play a leading role in building a European security architecture that is anti-Russian and protects Ukraine.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said after a meeting with his German colleague Annalena Baerbock (Greens) in Berlin that Germany must pursue a policy that includes Ukraine's admission to the EU.

Otherwise, Germany will “lose a massive amount of credibility”.

In this way, Rau indirectly expressed Polish concerns that the German government could be satisfied with a ceasefire in Ukraine, even if parts of Ukrainian national territory remained occupied by Russia.

Johannes Leithauser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Baerbock tried to counter such fears by pointing out that although the war threatened "to slip a bit from public attention", there were now other headlines again.

But for the Ukrainians it is still "bitter reality".

She also said there were voices saying it was "time for dialogue."

This should be countered by pointing out that, firstly, the West had tried for many years to resolve conflicts with Russia in talks, and that Russia, moreover, "willfully destroyed the existing dialogue platform of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) through its aggression itself " have.

Baerbock said she knew how closely Warsaw looked at Germany.

Nevertheless, Rau once again criticized the German side for her Russia policy of the past few years.

This was a "Russia first" policy.

Germany has made itself dependent on Russian gas supplies for economic benefits and in return has taken Russian foreign policy interests into account, "which has restricted the sovereignty of the CIS countries".

In view of the criticism of the Polish President Andrzej Duda, according to which an agreed ring exchange of tanks, in which the Ukraine should receive old tanks of Soviet design from Poland and be compensated with newer German Leopard tanks, Rau said the devil was in the Execution of this agreement in detail.

On Tuesday, Baerbock also received the new French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna for an inaugural visit.

Baerbock was confident that agreement would be reached quickly on the sixth EU sanctions package against Russia, which includes a gradual oil embargo.