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Roundup: Germany reiterates readiness to take leadership

Xinhua, February 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Germany is ready to be more engaged in international affairs and to take a leadership by cooperating with its partners, said German Defense Minister in Munich on Friday.

Citing a survey result showing that most of German citizens think Germany should continue to be restraint in its foreign policy, Ursula von der Leyen, the female Defense Minister of Germany, said German government, however, was committed to change its policy and would "tirelessly communicate and explain" throughout Germany about the necessity of the change.

"Is Germany ready to lead? My answer is: Yes, we are ... The key question is: What kind of leadership are we talking about today?" said the Minister in the Munich Security Conference, a place where top German officials surprisingly announced the policy redirection a year earlier.

According to her, Germany would not think of leadership as "putting itself in charge and telling others what to do."

Instead, her country would seek a "leadership from the center" which means to enable its partners with less resources in order to "make their vital contributions as equal partners" and to "assume responsibility for security in their own regions."

As examples, von der Leyen cited Germany's military integration and cooperation with its neighbors the Netherlands, France and Poland, as well as the country's military training programs in Mali, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia and Iraq.

It also means the unconditional willingness to analyze and make decisions in a common approach and to combine Germany's willingness and capacity to act, as well as commitment to address the most urgent questions concerning future security policy, said the minister, citing Germany's participation in international efforts on resolving the Ukraine crisis as an example.

According to a survey by German Koerber Foundation last year, 86 percent of Germans support Germany's increasing involvement in humanitarian assistance, 85 percent support more engagement in diplomatic negotiations, while only 13 percent thought Germany should send armed forces to military missions abroad or deliver arms to allied countries. Endit