It is the Chancellor’s first trip to the United Nations since he took office. The focus will be on the Russian attack on Ukraine and its consequences.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to clearly counter Russian propaganda in connection with the war of aggression against Ukraine in his first speech to the UN General Assembly.
In his speech on Tuesday evening (local time) in New York, Scholz will clearly describe the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he described as a turning point, as a breach of international law, government circles in Berlin said. Scholz will make a commitment to the value-based multilateral order and the UN Charter.
The war of opinions waged by Moscow should not be underestimated, government circles warned. Russia is trying to sweep the breach of international law it has committed under the carpet. Scholz wanted to counter this with elementary truths in connection with the war of aggression that Moscow began on February 24.
At the same time, representations in government circles that the White House or the US government was putting pressure on Germany to deliver modern battle tanks, such as the Leopard 2, were contradicted. There were also no corresponding requests. On the contrary, there is great appreciation from the US side for what Germany is doing to support Ukraine. There is “no friction at all” here, it said.
Circles: No friction with US over tank debate
In view of the Chancellor’s negative attitude towards the delivery of main battle tanks, no change is pending, the circles said. At the same time, however, it was emphasized that the chancellor had never said that he would never deliver tanks. Rather, he had always stated that the federal government was not going it alone. At the moment there is no country that supplies western main battle tanks or intends to do so. The long-term goal remains that Ukraine can defend itself with a modern army. At the same time, it was stated in government circles that the Chancellery was not working on a new edition of the so-called Minsk peace process for Ukraine.
The government circles made it clear that Scholz’s speech to the General Assembly was intended to make suggestions as to what the turning point in connection with the Russian attack on Ukraine meant for the UN. Scholz is expected to give the speech between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time (12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. German time on Wednesday morning).
No bilateral meeting between Scholz and Biden planned
A bilateral meeting between the Chancellor and US President Joe Biden on the fringes of the General Assembly is not planned, according to government circles. Scholz will meet Biden on several occasions on a larger scale. On Wednesday, among other things, a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres is planned. Should the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj travel to the General Assembly, Scholz also wants to meet bilaterally with him.
According to this information, Scholz also wants to take part in a food security summit convened by Guterres. In addition, the chancellor will promote the reconstruction conference for Ukraine planned by the federal government for October 25 – as well as the ambitious results of the climate summit in Egypt in November. According to information from government circles, the chancellor is also planning an editorial visit to the New York Times and the recording of a program on the US television network NBC.
The Chancellor also wants to meet with representatives of Jewish organizations in New York. It is his first visit to New York and the United Nations since taking office nine months ago.
Baerbock arrives by scheduled flight
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also wants to travel to the UN General Assembly this Tuesday. According to a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office, the Green politician wants to fly to New York on a scheduled flight. In government circles it was said whether there would be joint appointments by Scholz and Baerbock on the fringes of the UN assembly is still open.
Source: Stern
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