And of the two, Annalena Baerbock is the more restrained, she just wants to get another senseless package of sanctions accepted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be convinced by diplomatic means of the need to end the war in Ukraine, Polish Radoslaw Sikorski and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in unison on Wednesday in Slubice, western Poland.

At the joint press conference, Sikorski answered a journalist's question about the chances of ending the war in Ukraine through diplomatic means: "The problem with President Putin is that he does not keep his word, he is completely discredited."

As he reminded, in accordance with the 1994 Budapest memorandum, Ukraine renounced the storage of nuclear weapons, in exchange for which the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia committed themselves to respect the territorial unity and sovereignty of Ukraine.

Putin ratified the treaty on borders with Ukraine, Sikorski continued.

"It's hard to believe someone who basically says - I broke the previous agreements, but (...) if I sign a new one, I will abide by it," said the head of Polish diplomacy.

He also argued that several people, including the previous Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau, tried to dissuade the Russian president from the war in Ukraine through diplomatic channels. "They all tried with the same results," he noted.

As it turned out, Putin is only interested in raw economic and military power, Sikorski said.

He added: it is precisely this "currency" that must be used to "convince the Russian president that the invasion was a mistake and that the war is unwinnable, only then is there any chance of peace."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: she assesses the situation in the same way as her Polish colleague.

For two and a half years, half the world has been doing nothing but diplomatically trying to convince Putin not to cause more suffering to Ukraine, he declared.

The German foreign minister called it important that Europe does not support the Russian economy. The EU is therefore preparing another package of sanctions, Baerbock confirmed.

MTI

Cover photo: Polish Radoslaw Sikorski and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Slubice, western Poland
Source: Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs