Baerbock is back — and another crisis awaits
February 12, 2022
Annalena Baerbock was supposed to go to the Middle East weeks ago, but Germany's new top diplomat had to postpone her trip a number of times because of the situation in Ukraine. Baerbock, of the Greens, finally traveled to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt this week. On all her stops, she talked about human rights and the Middle East peace process, reiterating Germany's support for a two-state solution. With each day, however, there was more and more of a sense that she was in the wrong place.
Russia had already built up troops on Ukraine's border by the time she landed in Israel. Then, in Amman, her Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, made it clear that the crisis could have severe consequences for his country were it to escalate. Jordan,which is one of the countries in the region that hosts the most refugees, receives considerable financial support from Germany and other countries. Safadi said a war in Europe would spell disaster for the future of the refugees and the whole region.
In Cairo, the last stop of the foreign minister's trip, the news from Berlin took over. In her joint press conference with her Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Hassan Shoukri, Baerbock called on German citizens to leave Ukraine. "At this very moment, there is a meeting taking place in the Foreign Ministry with all the relevant department and security authorities," she said.
She said the number of diplomats at the German Embassy in Kyiv would be reduced, as would the staff bodies of German organizations such as GIZ and the KfW development bank. Including teachers and family members, about 600 people could be directly affected. Baerbock also announced that the German Consulate in Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, would be "transferred temporarily to Lviv," in the west.
Human rights, climate
Despite all the distractions from Europe, the foreign minister persevered with her planned bilateral program in the Middle East, as was expected of her by Germany's partners. She addressed issues close to her heart: human rights, climate change, women's rights. In Egypt, she called on the government to respect human rights and said she had spoken "openly and honestly" about the situation with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Since he has been in power, there has been a marked increase in the persecution of government opponents: 60,000 people have been arrested on political grounds.
In both Jordan and Egypt, the German foreign minister explored the chances for cooperation with regard to global warming and protecting the environment. Egypt will be hosting the international climate conference of 2022 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh this November. The correlations between human rights and global warming will surely be highlighted.
In each of the countries that she visited, Baerbock also met with representatives of NGOs and civil society.
German arms exports
Another sensitive topic — arms sales — came up several times, including in Egypt, which is the country to which the German arms industry exports the most weapons. In 2021, Egypt bought over €4 billion worth of weapons and defense systems. By comparison, the United States, a NATO ally, imported about one-third of this amount from Germany.
Baerbock said the new government would soon be reviewing the "restrictive policy" on arms exports more carefully. She said exceptions would only be possible in "well-justified individual cases and after careful examination."
"Of course, this will also affect countries that have so far been major recipients of German arms exports," Baerbock said, adding that there would be more clarity from new arms exports control legislation. If this comes into effect, exporters and the government will be obliged not only to adhere to "restrictive guidelines," but will also be held liable in case of doubt.
Her counterpart in Cairo, Sameh Hassan Shoukry, said Egypt did not make its relations with other countries dependent on conditions. He said "mutual respect and noninterference in internal affairs" were important and added that Egypt saw a direct connection between its national security and Europe's security, especially in matters of terrorism and migration.
Baerbock landed back in Berlin on Saturday evening. Now, she will be turning her full attention to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to travel to Kyiv in the next few days and then on to Moscow.
On Saturday, Baerbock said Germany would make all efforts to find a diplomatic solution, but added that she might have to implement further security measures very soon — particularly if, as the United States has warned, the "worst-case scenario" of an attack on Ukraine by Russia occurs this coming week. On Sunday, the German presidential election is taking place. After that, crisis diplomacy will continue.
This article was translated from German.