German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said she was asked not to joke about German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and not to say too much, the press service of the Foreign Ministry reports.

Burbock on Saturday evening, February 4, was awarded the order "Against brutal seriousness" from the Carnival Association of the German city of Aachen. The playful order is annually awarded to well-known politicians for their sense of humor and closeness to the people. The bearer of such an award is knighted.

The minister, speaking at the awards ceremony, admitted that her entourage asked to be more careful with her statements.

“I was warned: Annalena, after this week, please, no jokes about the Federal Chancellor. And most importantly, please don't say too much. But you can not say too much when you say nothing at all. And, obviously, others can do it better than me,” the diplomat said.

She also stated that she wanted to come to the carnival in a leopard costume (Leopard 2 is the name of the German battle tank that Germany should supply to Ukraine).

“Then I began to worry that then the chancellor’s office would not give me travel permits for several weeks. That's why I'm here the way I am," Burbock said.

According to her, a woman in her own right as foreign minister for many in Germany still seems more exotic than being "a clown or a superman."

The diplomat also said that she was glad to be at the carnival in Aachen and it was a great honor for her that she was accepted "into this illustrious circle of knights."

She also expressed gratitude for living in a country where everyone, including politicians, can laugh with each other and at each other.

On January 24, Burbock, during her speech at PACE, stated that Germany and other European countries were "waging war against Russia."

Later, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commenting on this statement by the German diplomat, indicated that Burbock's words about waging war with Russia, coupled with the statement of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the fictitious nature of the Minsk agreements, speak of the planned nature of actions towards Russia.