"That should have done differently": Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has again expressed critical of the action of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in their northern Syria thrust. International is expected "that we are reliable, that the federal government as a whole works and makes such proposals," said Maas in the show "early start" of RTL and n-tv.
But the defense minister does not do that. "That's why we have to clarify that now, it's also about confidence in German foreign policy," said Maas. It was "obvious" that the discussion by Kramp-Karrenbauer's surprising initiative "did not start well". Kramp-Karrenbauer had suggested establishing an international security zone in the embattled north of Syria.
He expects that in the course of Wednesday she will make concrete her proposals: "Of course we want to know what that means for the Bundeswehr, because if you make such proposals internationally, then of course you ask: what are you contributing?" There are many questions that have not been answered. Kramp-Karrenbauer must now deliver, said the SPD politician.
Agreement between Russia and Turkey makes the situation even more complicated
Maas also criticized the timing chosen just before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday: "It might have been wise to wait for this meeting to decide on the basis of what to do next." Putin and Erdogan had agreed Turkish-Russian patrols in northern Syria.
The Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Niels Annen (SPD), said on Deutschlandfunk that the Russian-Turkish agreement made it difficult to implement the protection zone proposed by Kramp-Karrenbauer. "Will we become a supporting force for Russian politics in northeastern Syria?" Annen asked. "I can not really imagine that, and therefore there are indeed many important details to clarify now."
