Germany says Russia’s isolation will grow if Putin continues his war

BERLIN

Germany warned Russia on Friday that it would face global economic and political isolation if it does not stop its war against Ukraine.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement ahead of a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent actions show that he wants to gain full control of Ukraine.

“If he continues on this course, he should expect a unified response and the international isolation of Russia,” she stressed, adding that Western countries will strictly implement recently adopted political and economic sanctions.

“With his war against Ukraine, President Putin is also ruining his own country,” she said.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

According to UN figures, at least 249 civilians have been killed and 553 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war.

More than a million people have also fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

In the second round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv on Thursday, the two sides agreed on creating humanitarian corridors for evacuation of civilians and for food and medicine deliveries.