No break, front-line experience, delicate personnel: But Baerbock is already starting the next mission

Created: 02/10/2022Updated: 02/10/2022 05:30

By: Patrick Mayer

Foreign Minister on constant duty: Annalena Baerbock (The Greens).

© IMAGO / photo library

After her visit to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will have her first Middle East peace talks.

The Green politician does not take a break.

The news ticker for the Israel trip.

• Middle East trip:

  Annalena Baerbock (Die Grünen)* visits Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

• After her visit to Ukraine, the foreign minister* came into focus because of a sensitive personal issue in her office.

• This

  news ticker about Baerbock's trip to the Middle East

  is updated regularly.

Munich/Berlin – The citizens of Germany perceive her most among the members of the government: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (The Greens)*.

At least that's what a Forsa survey for the "Trendbarometer" by RTL and ntv says.

In fact: The 41-year-old travels from one delicate mission to the next.

She had just returned from her visit to the front in the crisis region on the Donbass in Ukraine.

In between, she added a polarizing personality to the Foreign Office in Berlin.

So Baerbock quickly made the former Greenpeace boss Jennifer Morgan State Secretary for International Climate Policy.

You could also say: Annalena Baerbock* is serious.

And she obviously doesn't take a break.

Middle East trip by Annalena Baerbock: Foreign Minister visits Israel, Jordan and Egypt

After all, the head of department now wants to bring new impetus to the Middle East peace process, which has been stagnating for years, during her first visits to Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

"Even if the Middle East conflict is a crisis that has always been there for many, we cannot accept it as the status quo," said the Green politician on Wednesday (February 9) before leaving for her inaugural visit to the Middle East: "Everyone has a right to hope - especially the hope of peace.” She welcomed the fact that the new Israeli government has brought the Israelis and Palestinians closer together.

Everyone has a right to hope.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (The Greens)

At the same time, the German Foreign Minister assured: "We stand by our special historical responsibility for the security of Israel and will continue to make contributions in solidarity." Visit the Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem.

There, the woman from Lower Saxony wants to lay a wreath to commemorate the six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany.

Middle East trip by Annalena Baerbock: Foreign Minister holds talks in Palestinian territories

Talks are then planned with Foreign Minister Jair Lapid, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and President Itzchak Herzog.

In the afternoon, Baerbock will meet President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riad Malki in the Palestinian territories.

The meeting will take place in Ramallah in the West Bank.

The representative of the traffic light federal government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) * does her job, even against the swipes that have existed so far.

For example,

editor Christoph von Marschall commented on a photo of Annalena Baerbock in Ukraine* in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin” with the words: “This picture is really a bit revealing.

You can clearly see that this young lady, who is our foreign minister, does not feel particularly comfortable in this situation.”

In the video: Annalena Baerbock - with a protective helmet and vest in the Ukraine crisis area

But: After Baerbock's visit to the front in a protective helmet and bulletproof vest, the next trip to a crisis region is already imminent.

Baerbock wanted to continue flying to Jordan on Thursday, and talks in Egypt are on their agenda on Saturday.

With regard to the peace process, the minister explained that Jordan and Egypt, as direct neighbors and Israel's oldest peace treaty partners, play a special role.

She wanted to explore “how we can jointly support further steps towards a peace process”.

The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians has been largely idle since 2014.

Baerbock reiterated that Germany, also under the new federal government, is committed to the goal of a negotiated two-state solution.

*