Did German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock say that everyone knew the sanctions against Russia were useless before they were introduced? No, that's not true: Baerbock defended the sanctions during a discussion organized by the Wall Street Journal, saying they are important because they show those who violate basic laws that they will be held accountable.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on February 25, 2024. The video shows Baerbock saying in English: "When we started the sanctions, nobody believed that the sanctions package would stop this kind of invasion." The text overlay in the video (translated from Czech to English by Lead Stories staff) read:
They´ve got to be kidding. Then why did you need the clown show? It has been just kind of a nightmare for common citizens. And such people are in power in Europe. All for citizens.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Feb 28 08:19:04 2024 UTC)
Baerbock's statement in the video is from her speech at a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) panel in New York on February 23, 2023 (archived here). WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker (archived here) discussed further aid to Ukraine with Baerbock, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski on the eve of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
When asked by Tucker whether the West could do more to stop Putin than impose sanctions, which "are not really having much of an effect at the moment," Baerbock replied that Russia was not a democratic regime in which Putin would be held accountable by voters for his actions and their consequences: "Nobody from us, when we started with the sanctions, believed that the sanction package would stop this kind of invasion but sanctions are important. We are showing the world, to the Putin regime, to the people around them, to those who voted in the Duma for this war, and those who are responsible for kidnapping children, that the breach of fundamental law is not only seen in the world, that it is being sanctioned. And yes, unfortunately, it will take time, also with the effects." Baerbock went on to say that the sanctions complement the military support for Ukraine and show the world and companies that "you cannot simply cooperate with such a dictator."
The full version of the interview can be viewed here (archived here) on the WSJ's YouTube channel.
