German national flag over the Budestag building in BerlinMOSCOW, Jan 25The decision of Brussels not to evacuate its employees from Ukraine, unlike the United States, Great Britain, indicates the desire of the EU to pursue its own policy, a number of representatives of the German right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) told RIA Novosti. Earlier, the US State Department allowed the voluntary departure of some employees from Ukraine the American embassy in Kiev and members of the families of diplomats. The UK and Australia have also begun withdrawing part of the embassy staff in Kiev and their families amid an allegedly possible aggravation of the situation in the country. The German Foreign Ministry invited family members of diplomats and employees of German organizations to leave Ukraine if they wished. In turn, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that EU diplomats are not going to leave Ukraine.»Crimea will not return to Ukraine.» Germans quarrel over relations with Russia «The EU stays in Ukraine because they have remembered that they cannot rely on NATO for all foreign policy decisions,» said Harald Weijel, who represents the EU affairs committee in the Bundestag. He added that the situation with the evacuation of American diplomats resembles the actions of the United States in Afghanistan. «In Afghanistan, as well as in Kiev, there is no immediate external threat that would be the reason for the evacuation. Apparently, it is caused by political considerations not known to the public» , — the German parliamentarian shared. As AfD member Olga Petersen told the agency, the EU's position regarding the evacuation of personnel speaks of Brussels' desire to resolve the conflict peacefully, and the removal of European diplomats, on the contrary, would be a counterproductive step. At the same time, she considers it incorrect to compare the situation in Kiev with the one in Kabul, since «the United States is pursuing other goals in Ukraine.»Ukraine's Defense Minister urged not to sow panicAccording to Gunnar Beck, an AfD MEP, the exodus of diplomats, as well as the postponement of the imposition of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, prove that «influential groups in the West are seeking to increase tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine «. The EU is still divided between those who want to cooperate with Russia and those who «clearly want relations to deteriorate further,» Beck said. However, the strengthening of the position of the Greens in Germany could lead to a tougher approach towards Russia, the expert fears. «In my opinion, as long as the Russian government sticks to its current measured approach, which is more reactionary than there is a chance to avoid escalation,» Beck said. Russia has repeatedly rejected the accusations of the West and Ukraine of escalation, stating that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and moves troops within its territory and at its own discretion, this is not for anyone threatening and no one should care. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier, Russia does not create any pretexts for a conflict situation around Ukraine. According to him, Russia does not rule out that the hysteria around Ukraine, hyped by the West, is aimed at covering Kiev's line of sabotaging the Minsk agreements on Donbass. According to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, the information hysteria of the USA and NATO on Ukraine is generously framed by lies and fakes. do not see the mass evacuation of diplomats from Ukraine
