Germany Presses UN for Concrete Action on Ukraine and Middle East Crises
As world leaders converged on New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Germany’s foreign minister pressed for concrete progress toward ending the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, warning that another round of diplomatic stock-taking would not be enough.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, speaking Monday before departing for New York, said those responsible for the conflicts should be ready to “seriously fight for every step, however small, toward a solution.”
His appeal reflects a broader concern among European officials that the UN’s traditional role as a forum for crisis diplomacy is being strained by entrenched fighting, deepening rivalries and a narrowing space for compromise. Wadephul criticized what he described as a drift toward permanent escalation and said Germany would work to break through the “stifling lack of dialogue between the parties to the conflicts.”
On Ukraine, he called on Russia to enter serious negotiations and said Moscow was increasingly threatening EU and NATO members. The warning underscores Western fears that the war could widen beyond Ukraine’s borders and further destabilize Europe’s security order.
Germany also plans talks on how the UN could take greater responsibility for maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab. Wadephul said Iran and the Tehran-backed Houthi militia have held the “lifelines of free trade in a stranglehold” for months, a situation with direct consequences for global shipping, energy prices and supply chains.
In a sign of domestic political strain, Chancellor Friedrich Merz will not attend the General Assembly debate. He canceled his planned trip after heavy election losses for his conservative Christian Democrats in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, and he is also dealing with fresh political blows after the party suffered major losses in Sunday’s elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin.
Germany will instead be represented by Wadephul, Environment Minister Carsten Schneider and Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan.
Wadephul is due to meet his counterparts from the Group of Seven major democracies in New York on Monday. He said the General Assembly offered a unique opportunity for countries to coordinate on major international challenges.