Scholz and Baerbock in New York: in a double pack on the world stage

Chancellor Merkel only came to the UN General Assembly once, usually she sent her foreign ministers. This time Scholz and Baerbock have announced themselves. They come separately, but with a common message. Or?

In March, just a week and a half after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UN General Assembly convened for an emergency session in New York. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived. She reported on people and their desperate escape from the attacks by going underground: a few days ago a girl was born in a subway station in Kyiv. A girl named Mia. “Russia’s war means a new era,” Baerbock added at the time. It was a solidarity with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had spoken of a turning point shortly before.

The UN General Assembly condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine by a large majority of 141 countries. However: 35 countries abstained, some – like Belarus and North Korea – voted against the resolution. In any case, no joint declaration can be expected from the much more powerful UN Security Council. Russia has a right of veto there. The United Nations between power and powerlessness: This topic will also accompany the upcoming trip to New York by Federal Chancellor Scholz and his Foreign Minister.

Scholz on the world stage

The UN General Assembly with the heads of state and government of the world is the annual High Mass of the United Nations. Scholz will speak there as “Chancellor of the turning point,” just as he did in the Bundestag at the end of February and in the spirit of his words at the end of last week at a Bundeswehr conference. He warned that a highly armed nuclear power was trying to use force to redraw borders in Europe: “If Russia got away with it, our peace in Europe would be gone for a long time.”

The fact that a permanent member of the UN Security Council is starting a war is not just an attack on Ukraine, but also on the United Nations Charter, according to the Chancellery shortly before the start of the UN General Assembly. The preamble states that the “peoples of the United Nations” are determined to “save future generations from the scourge of war”. The sculpture of a pistol with a knotted barrel stands as a powerful symbol of this at the United Nations in New York.

Attempts at telephone diplomacy

Russia is sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to New York this week. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, on the other hand, is connected via video – an exception made by the UN makes it possible. Before the meeting of the world community, there were repeated attempts at telephone diplomacy. After a long break, the Chancellor spoke to Putin. But then the summaries of the hour-and-a-half exchange read like reports of different phone calls. There wasn’t much in common.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called Putin. Its balance sheet: The chances of a peace agreement are currently minimal. Jens Plötner, foreign and security policy adviser to the chancellor, sees this in conversation with the ARD Capital Studio just like that. There are no signs that Russia is “descending from this madness.” Nevertheless, it is important to make it clear in New York that the majority of the international community recognizes and names this injustice.

Energy crisis, hunger crisis, climate crisis…

Scholz wants to address the world community in front of the golden wall of the meeting room on Tuesday evening local time – i.e. on the night of German time. The Ukraine war will be the focus of his New York turning point speech, the energy crisis, the supply of grain to the world. After all, the United Nations has shown its ability to act in opening up Ukrainian ports for exports. A summit on food security is another appointment in the Chancellor’s New York travel calendar – in addition to many side meetings. One topic has been shaping the General Assemblies for a long time now: the climate crisis. In view of the upcoming world climate conference, Scholz will stand up for “ambitious goals”, according to government circles.

Merkel only came once

Predecessor Angela Merkel only used this stage once during the General Assembly. That’s 15 years ago. In 2007 she spoke of massive upheavals: “The structure of the world is changing.” Back then it wasn’t about war, back then it was about globalization and also about climate change. Most of the time, however, Merkel left the podium to her foreign ministers: Heiko Maas, Sigmar Gabriel, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Guido Westerwelle. So now, with their double visit, Scholz and Baerbock are sending a strong message to the United Nations in times of war. It was “almost a matter of course” for Scholz to want to speak at the General Assembly himself, according to Chancellor Advisor Plötner.

Why no main battle tanks?

But with all the support for Ukraine, why isn’t Germany delivering modern battle tanks? The Chancellor sees himself as part of a good international community and does not want to go it alone. And yet this question should accompany him all the way to New York, to the editorial offices of the “New York Times” and the broadcaster NBC. He wants to give interviews there. It is true that government circles emphasize that the White House has not issued any requests, pressure or requests to do more, but rather great recognition for what has been achieved.

But there are also rumblings in the coalition. Foreign Minister Baerbock does not want to go it alone either, but recently demanded in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that a decision should “not be delayed much longer”.

Do more, and do it quickly – that has long been the mantra of the FDP, especially defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. The latest idea: the “Leopard Plan”. European countries that have these tanks are teaming up to support Ukraine with as many numbers as possible. So many questions for Scholz, who is not only looking for the international stage at the United Nations, but also the American public.