German Chancellor rejects calls to sanction Russia now — argues the West should keep Putin guessing
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday rejected calls from Ukraine's president to sanction Russia now, saying that Moscow should not be sure “exactly” how the West will respond to a potential invasion.
Speaking to CNBC's Hadley Gamble at Germany's annual Munich Security Conference, Scholz said that Western allies were “well prepared” to sanction Russia — and quickly — if it were to invade Ukraine. But he said that such measures should remain a last resort in the hopes finding of a peaceful resolution to ongoing tensions.
“It's better to say we do it then, instead of doing it now, because we want to avoid the situation,” he said, referring to imposing potential sanctions on Russia. “We want to go in the direction where peace is having a chance.”
Russia has repeatedly denied that it is planning an invasion of Ukraine, but multiple Western officials said this week that the country is actively increasing its military presence on its border.
Scholz would not clarify what sanctions Russia might be hit with if it were to invade Ukraine. Rather, he said that Moscow ought to know “approximately” and not “exactly” the repercussions it would face.
This contrasts with other Western leaders who have made specific remarks about how Russia could be hurt economically, most notably through energy sanctions.
“My view is that it makes no sense to make them public. It is good for what we expect to get that the Russian government cannot be really sure exactly what we'll do,” he said.
“They will know approximately what we're talking about, but they will not know it exactly.”
His comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday reiterated his calls for sanctions now, saying the West should stop its “appeasement” policy toward Russia.
“We have a right — a right to demand a shift from a policy of appeasement to one ensuring security and peace,” Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference.
“There is no such thing as ‘this is not my war' in the 21st century. This is not about the war in Ukraine, this is about the war in Europe.”
Russia launches ballistic and cruise missiles
In a show of its military prowess, Russia on Saturday launched ballistic and cruise missiles as part of a “planned exercise of the strategic deterrence forces.”
President Joe Biden said Friday that the United States believes Russian President Vladimir Putin may carry out an attack on Ukraine “in the coming days.”
“We have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days,” Biden said Friday in remarks at the White House, noting that any such attack would likely target Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.
It comes after U.S. intelligence agencies said Moscow had added around 7,000 troops to Ukraine's border this week, taking its total estimated military presence to around 150,000. Russian forces have also been posted in Belarus, an ally that lies to the north of Ukraine.
Earlier this week, the Russian government claimed that it had started to return some of its troops to their bases. However, Ukraine's president and Western officials urged caution over taking Moscow's claim at face value.
Ukraine and Western allies have warned that Russia may create a “false flag” event — in which it would stage a real or simulated attack on its own forces — to create an excuse to invade Ukraine.
—CNBC's Natasha Turak contributed to this report.
德国总理奥拉夫·舒尔茨周六拒绝了乌克兰总统关于现在制裁俄罗斯的呼吁，称莫斯科不应该“确切地”确定西方将如何应对潜在的入侵。 Scholz 在德国年度慕尼黑安全会议上对 CNBC 的 Hadley Gamble 发表讲话时表示，如果俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，西方盟国已经“做好充分准备”来制裁俄罗斯——而且速度很快。但他表示，这些措施应该仍然是最后的手段，以期找到和平解决持续紧张局势的方法。
“最好说我们当时就这样做，而不是现在就这样做，因为我们想避免这种情况，”他说，指的是对俄罗斯实施潜在的制裁。 “我们希望朝着和平有机会的方向前进。”
俄罗斯一再否认它计划入侵乌克兰，但多名西方官员本周表示，该国正在积极增加其在边境的军事存在。
肖尔茨没有说明如果俄罗斯入侵乌克兰可能会受到什么样的制裁。相反，他说莫斯科应该“大致”而不是“确切地”知道它将面临的影响。
这与其他西方领导人形成鲜明对比，后者曾就俄罗斯如何在经济上受到损害，尤其是通过能源制裁发表具体言论。
“我的观点是，将它们公开是没有意义的。俄罗斯政府无法真正确定我们将要做什么，这对我们期望得到的结果是有好处的，”他说。
“他们大概知道我们在说什么，但他们不会确切知道。”
他的评论是在乌克兰总统泽连斯基周六重申他现在呼吁制裁，称西方应该停止对俄罗斯的“绥靖”政策之后发表的。
“我们有权要求从绥靖政策转变为确保安全与和平的政策，”泽伦斯基在慕尼黑安全会议上说。
“在 21 世纪，没有‘这不是我的战争'这样的事情。这不是关于乌克兰的战争，而是关于欧洲的战争。”
俄罗斯发射弹道导弹和巡航导弹
为了展示其军事实力，俄罗斯周六发射了弹道导弹和巡航导弹，作为“战略威慑力量计划演习”的一部分。
总统乔·拜登周五表示，美国认为俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京可能会在“未来几天”对乌克兰发动袭击。
拜登周五在白宫发表讲话时说：“我们有理由相信，俄罗斯军队正计划并打算在未来一周、未来几天内袭击乌克兰。”他指出，任何此类袭击都可能针对乌克兰首都基辅。
此前，美国情报机构表示，莫斯科本周在乌克兰边境增派了约 7,000 名士兵，估计其总兵力达到约 150,000 人。俄罗斯军队也被派驻在位于乌克兰北部的盟友白俄罗斯。
本周早些时候，俄罗斯政府声称已开始将部分部队遣返基地。然而，乌克兰总统和西方官员敦促谨慎对待莫斯科的要求。
乌克兰和西方盟国警告说，俄罗斯可能会制造一场“假旗”事件——它将对自己的部队进行真实或模拟的攻击——为入侵乌克兰制造借口。
