German foreign minister says Iran 'squandered a lot of trust' in nuclear talks

Annalena Baerbock, in visit to Washington, said Russia would pay a 'high' price if it invades Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. AP

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday that Iran has "squandered a lot of trust" in the nuclear talks in Vienna and that the window is closing to revive the 2015 agreement.

Marking her visit to Washington, Ms Baerbock met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and took the opportunity to reiterate goals shared by the US and Germany regarding Iran and its efforts to restore a nuclear deal.

“We are pulling in the same direction when it comes to Iran and the discussions and negotiations are entering a crucial phase,” Ms Baerbock said.

“Iran has squandered a lot of trust and there is not much time."

The State Department noted on Tuesday, however, that there has been "progress" in the eighth round of talks happening in Vienna.

The US and Germany also struck a mutually censorious tone on Russia’s military build-up near Ukraine.

Ms Baerbock called Moscow's actions an "immediate and urgent challenge" while warning Russia that it would incur a "high political and economic price” if it invades Ukraine.

Germany’s chief diplomat refrained, however, from committing to ending the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project with partner Russia if an invasion should occur, instead simply threatening “effective measures".

“We [US and Germany] agreed on this, together with our European partners, that we take effective measures … should Russia use energy as a weapon or should it continue its aggressive acts against Ukraine,” she said.

Known for her more hawkish stance on Beijing, China, the German foreign minister called on the US and the EU to speak with “one voice” in regards to the humanitarian situation in Xinjiang.

“It is crucial that we speak with one one voice here and clearly call human rights violations by their name and [insure] that these violations are investigated,” she said.

She repeated Germany’s support for a European import ban on “products hailing from forced labour [or] resulting from grievous human rights violations”.