Germany's foreign minister warned Saturday against trying to guess or assume Russia's decisions on Ukraine, after US President Joe Biden said he believed Russian leader Vladimir Putin has decided on an invasion.
"In crisis situations, the most inappropriate thing to do is to somehow guess or assume," said Baerbock, in response to a question on whether she shared Biden's assessment.
"My urgent appeal to all is that we look closely at the facts on the ground", Baerbock said, warning against the risk of "targeted disinformation".
"We do not know yet if an attack has been decided on," the German minister said, adding that the "threat against Ukraine is very real".
Separately, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country was preparing to deal with "every possible scenario".
Baerbock had made her remarks at a press conference after hosting a G7 foreign ministers' meeting on the fringes of the annual Munich Security Conference.
The group of seven world most developed nations reaffirmed that they were "united" in their support for Ukraine and determined to respond to any violation of its sovereignty, according Baerbock, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the bloc.
"Pull your troops back, avoid damage to Russia and Ukraine and let us talk," Baerbock said in an appeal to Putin.
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Published 19 February 2022, 15:05 IST