Germany reaches out to Gulf states about Iran war
Key takeaways
- Germany no longer believes it can play a mediating role in the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.
- Is the world moving toward a time when individual states increasingly use military force to assert their interests?
- On Monday, the politician from the conservative Christian Democratic Union(CDU) met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Germany no longer believes it can play a mediating role in the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. Instead, the German government is working to strengthen its ties with the Gulf states.
https://p.dw.com/p/5E83SGerman Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has been holding meetings with representatives from the Gulf region Image: Christophe Gateau/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Are we living in an era where traditional diplomacy has little influence? Is the world moving toward a time when individual states increasingly use military force to assert their interests? If so, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made a conscious effort this week to set a different tone. The German chief diplomat was unusually busy.
On Monday, the politician from the conservative Christian Democratic Union(CDU) met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Afterward, Wadephul attended a conference at the German Foreign Office on energy security in Ukraine, which was also attended by representatives from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs. In more than four years of defending itself against Russia, Ukraine has learned to better protect its energy infrastructure against external attacks — something from which Germany could also learn. In addition, Wadephul received Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, and Hussein bin Abdallah, the Jordanian crown prince.