In the words of the Federal President, Germany will also be internationally reliable “in the time of political transition”.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said before the UN General Assembly on Friday in New York that Germany would remain a country after the federal elections that “knows about its international responsibility and takes it seriously”.

Steinmeier said: "Our partners can rely on us, and our competitors must continue to count on us."

Johannes Leithäuser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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In his appearance at the United Nations, the Federal President addressed the foreign policy situation in the West after the failure of the international mission in Afghanistan.

Steinmeier said the international community had to ask itself, "What lessons, what tasks do we trust ourselves when we had to find out: We wanted too much." His answer was: "We have to become more honest, smarter but also stronger."

Often more can be achieved “if we want less,” stated the Federal President.

Second, it is important to be wiser in choosing foreign policy instruments and priorities.

“German and European foreign policy must not limit itself to being right,” he warned, and demanded “less sense of mission”, but “more openness in the search for solutions and intersections”.

Steinmeier finally pleaded for more military strength and greater diplomatic courage. He linked this with the mandate that Germans and Europeans must “do more for our own security, do more for peace and stability in our neighborhood and worldwide”. This also applies to the multilateral efforts of the Europeans in Libya, eastern Ukraine and the Middle East. Steinmeier emphasized the willingness of the West to renew the nuclear agreement with Iran and said: "We demand that Iran return to serious negotiations as soon as possible."

In his speech to the General Assembly, the Federal President also echoed the recent dispute between France and the United States over their respective roles in the Indo-Pacific in a partnership with Australia and in a related submarine arms deal.

He said: “No short-term advantage is worth the cracks in our transatlantic unity.” All sides should “pay attention to one another”.

Steinmeier expressly shared the French efforts to strengthen the European common foreign and security policy.

"Only a strong Europe can ask others to do their part for the international peace order."

"Overexploitation of our common future"

European strength is also necessary because it is a prerequisite for being able to play its own role in relation to China. Steinmeier said: "Only a strong Europe can do both at the same time: seek cooperation with China where cooperation is in mutual interest and even necessary, and at the same time demand that China respect human rights and international law and the legitimate interests of its neighbors."

Steinmeier also addressed global challenges such as the corona pandemic and climate change.

He warned against a "relapse into national egoism", which was more than just a step back into the past.

It is an "overexploitation of our common future".

Such a relapse damages those “institutions and instruments that we need now”.

With a view to the World Climate Conference in Glasgow, the Federal President said: “We now need strong joint decisions.” In the fight against climate change, the gap between “our ambitious goals and our concrete policies is still far too big”.