External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Saturday and discussed several issues including Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific, and the ongoing tension between Ukraine and Russia.

Taking to Twitter, the Foreign Minister said that he also focused on climate action and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the meeting. “A wide-ranging discussion with German Foreign Minister @ABaerbock. Focused on climate action and SDGs, bilaterally and globally. Covered Afghanistan, Indo Pacific and Ukraine. Looking forward to building further on today’s meeting”, Jaishankar tweeted.

A wide ranging discussion with German Foreign Minister @ABaerbock.

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Focused on climate action and SDGs, bilaterally and globally.

Covered Afghanistan, Indo Pacific and Ukraine.

Looking forward to building further on today's meeting. pic.twitter.com/Mar5srgJNh

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 18, 2022

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock discussed Ukraine crisis at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

The German Foreign Minister said there is a new war impending right in the middle of Europe. “Russia issues an absolutely unacceptable threat with their troop’s buildup vis-a-vis Ukraine, but also vis-a-vis all of us and our peace architecture in Europe. Therefore, this crisis is therefore no Ukraine crisis. We have to be very careful about our framing. It’s a Russia crisis.”

Amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, a “powerful explosion” hit Luhansk, Sputnik reported.
The blast was said to occur at gas pipeline “Druzhba” and lead to a massive fire.

Local gas infrastructure managing “Lyhanskgas” said in a statement that emergency crews are now present on the site, reported Sputnik.

“At 00:10 on 19 February, calls began to arrive about a major fire on the gas pipeline near Malaya Vergunka, emergency teams of the State Unitary Enterprise ‘Luganskgaz’ went to the scene,” “Luganskgaz” told reporters.
Recently, the Quad meeting in Melbourne held a discussion over the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine to reinforce rules-based order that applies equally in Indo-Pacific as it does in Europe.

“There was a discussion of Russia and Ukraine in the context of the Quad meeting that we had with our Indian counterparts, our Japanese and Australian allies. There was a strong consensus in that meeting that there needs to be a diplomatic – a peaceful resolution to this.

One of the core tenets of the Quad is to reinforce the rules-based international order, and that is a rules-based order that applies equally in the Indo-Pacific as it does in Europe, as it does anywhere else,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.