Federal Foreign Minister Baerbock is on her way to the Arabian Peninsula. In Saudi Arabia and Qatar she will also talk about current conflicts. Foreign politicians in the Bundestag see the trip as an opportunity.
Sevim Dagdelen calls Saudi Arabia “this Islamist head-down dictatorship.” The Left MP criticizes Germany for delivering weapons there. Arms exports even increased under the traffic light. The country is partly responsible for the war in Yemen.
But Dagdelen thinks it’s right that Annalena Baerbock is now looking to talk to Saudi Arabia. According to the impression of the left-wing politician, the federal government had made itself less credible – by supplying arms. “Annalena Baerbock in particular is now facing a shambles of German Middle East policy here in Saudi Arabia – and Qatar too,” said the MP.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz was in Saudi Arabia last September, and now the Foreign Minister is following. That’s a good thing, says SPD foreign policy expert Nils Schmid: “It’s also a key region for European security.”
efforts for peace
The Saudis are currently trying to achieve a ceasefire in Sudan. Negotiations between the parties to the conflict are underway in the port city of Jeddah. Baerbock will travel there – also to thank Saudi Arabia for helping with the evacuation. Ferries from Sudan arrive regularly in Jeddah.
In addition to Sudan, Yemen will play a central role in the visit. Germany is the most important donor of humanitarian aid there. The country has been ravaged by a civil war for almost ten years. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed. According to experts, it is a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Both governments are getting closer at the moment. China conveyed that.
SPD MP Schmid hopes that Baerbock will succeed in persuading the Saudis to enter into a peace process. It’s high time this terrible war ended, he says.
problems with the human rights
In Jeddah, the German Foreign Minister will not only meet her colleague from Saudi Arabia, but also from Yemen. The Green MP Max Lucks is cautiously optimistic and notes: “We hope that Saudi Arabia will finally show a real willingness to get involved in a UN process.”
But Lucks also points out that the Saudis have campaigned for Syria to be reinstated in the Arab League. A summit meeting of the organization in Saudi Arabia is planned for the end of the week. Syria’s ruler Assad is also invited.
The Green politician also sees massive problems with human rights, especially because of the death penalty. Lucks is sure that Baerbock will address this when she visits. He sees this as a new pattern in German foreign policy. Namely that one “no longer fools oneself and recognizes the reality of having to seek cooperation”. And according to Lucks, Saudi Arabia in particular is a player with whom one must seek cooperation.
Because without the country there would be no peace in Yemen and no stability in Sudan. And not talking to each other would also mean giving China more space. Value-based foreign policy meets reality.