01:39Czech Republic: Back Ukraine 'no matter what my German voters think' - Baerbock admits support may cause unrest
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pledged to support Ukraine despite any resistance or pushback from her own people, while speaking at the Forum 2000 conference in Prague on Thursday.
"If I give the promise to people in Ukraine, we stand with you as long as you need us, then I want to deliver, no matter what my German voters think but I want to deliver to the people of Ukraine," she said.
"People will go on the street and say 'we cannot pay our energy prices' and I will say 'yes I know so we help you with social measures' but I don’t want to say 'OK then we stop the sanctions against Russia'" the minister continued.
The German government has already enacted emergency measures to deal with the energy crisis, including bringing coal power stations back onto the grid - reversing previous green pledges - and imposing a new gas levy on consumers to shore up utility companies.
Protests have already been seen across the country, with the administration cutting VAT on natural gas to ease the burden on consumers.
The Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline from Russia has currently stopped supplies, which Gazprom blamed on maintenance issues, exacerbated by Western sanctions.
There are also splits within the German coalition over strategy, with Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki calling for the Nord Stream 2 line from Russia to be opened so 'people do not have to freeze'. Work was shut down following the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February.
01:39Mandatory credit: EBS
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pledged to support Ukraine despite any resistance or pushback from her own people, while speaking at the Forum 2000 conference in Prague on Thursday.
"If I give the promise to people in Ukraine, we stand with you as long as you need us, then I want to deliver, no matter what my German voters think but I want to deliver to the people of Ukraine," she said.
"People will go on the street and say 'we cannot pay our energy prices' and I will say 'yes I know so we help you with social measures' but I don’t want to say 'OK then we stop the sanctions against Russia'" the minister continued.
The German government has already enacted emergency measures to deal with the energy crisis, including bringing coal power stations back onto the grid - reversing previous green pledges - and imposing a new gas levy on consumers to shore up utility companies.
Protests have already been seen across the country, with the administration cutting VAT on natural gas to ease the burden on consumers.
The Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline from Russia has currently stopped supplies, which Gazprom blamed on maintenance issues, exacerbated by Western sanctions.
There are also splits within the German coalition over strategy, with Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki calling for the Nord Stream 2 line from Russia to be opened so 'people do not have to freeze'. Work was shut down following the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February.