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Thousands protesters lie down in Berlin to demand their country stop purchasing Russian oil and gas
The Anews reported that several thousand protesters laid down on the lawn in front of Germany's parliament on Wednesday (6 Apr) to commemorate the people killed in the war in Ukraine and to demand Berlin stop purchasing Russian oil and gas.
The Alliance of Ukrainian Organizations had registered 5,000 participants in the protest outside the Reichstag building in Berlin's government quarter.
Many were dressed in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine and had red tears painted under their eyes. Signs held up read "No money for war" and condemned the stance of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
At the start of the demonstration they chanted slogans demanding an embargo on Russian oil and gas. Accounts of civilians caught up in the war were then read out before the participants sprawled out on the ground and formed a "human carpet."
Many of the demonstrators had their eyes shut and their hands behind their backs, as if they had been tied up.
The scene evoked pictures that have emerged from the small town of Bucha, outside of Kyiv, where hundreds of civilians were found dead after the withdrawal of Russian forces.
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Some of the victims had been tied up and had bullet wounds to the head, suggesting they had been executed. Moscow denies its troops had any involvement in the atrocities.
In Lithuania, several dozen people protested outside the German embassy in Vilnius to express their anger at Berlin's reticence to impose a ban on Russian energy sources.
They also laid motionless on the street in front of the embassy to symbolize civilians killed in Ukraine.
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One of the activists told Lithuanian radio: "Germany is financing Russia's actions and genocide in Ukraine because of cheaper heating."
Source: anews
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Amid growing anxiety among several European countries participating in NATO over Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated he looks forward to sitting down with Trump.
Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.
Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.
On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.
It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.
Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.
Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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