German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was re-elected on Sunday unsurprisingly for a new five-year term. In his speech after his re-election, the Head of State clearly denounced the “ responsibility of Moscow in the current crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibault
” I appeal to President Putin. Loosen the noose around Ukraine’s neck and seek with us a solution to safeguard peace in Europe. The danger of a military conflict, of a war in the east of the continent threatens us. Russia bears the responsibility. »
Angela Merkel’s former foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was in charge during Russia’s annexation of Crimea and then worked tirelessly on this sensitive issue. Familiar with cautious statements, Frank-Walter Steinmeier had words that could not be clearer this Sunday against Moscow.
Clear words in the face of Scholz’s vagueness
Right after his re-election as President of the Federal Republic of Germany, he gave a combative speech in defense of democratic values. He assured Ukraine and the other countries of Eastern Europe of the solidarity of Germany and the international community, recalling that without NATO and the European Union, the reunification of his country would not have was possible.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier addressed the assembly which had just re-elected him by a very large majority. Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz sat in the front row. The speech of the re-elected president contrasts with that of the chancellor, expected in Kiev then in Moscow, who has been criticized for his vagueness in the current crisis.
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Frank-Walter Steinmeier won nearly three-quarters of the vote this Sunday. The Social Democrat was supported by a large majority within the parliamentary assembly organized for this election. The parties of the current coalition – SPD, Greens and Liberals – supported his re-election like the Christian Democrats.