World is moving into phase of confrontation, German president warns

BERLIN (AA) - The world is moving into a phase of confrontation, and harder years lie ahead for Germany, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday.

In a major speech, Steinmeier warned about the severe consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war, underlining that Germany will have to face new challenges, and calling for public solidarity in the face of ongoing crises.

“The 24th of February was a turning point in history,” Steinmeier said, referring to the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, adding that the war ended an era of peace and stability which Germans profited from greatly and reduced the European security order to “rubble.”

“With his imperial obsession, the Russian president has broken international law, challenged borders, committed land grabs. The Russian attack is an attack on all the lessons the world had learned from the two world wars,” said Steinmeier.

Steinmeier said the consequences of the war, new security threats, the energy crisis, and inflation have greatly challenged Germany’s successful economic model.

“I believe many of the concerns are valid. We are experiencing the deepest crisis since the reunification of Germany,” he stressed.

Steinmeier underlined that Germany will cut its dependency on Russian gas and oil, and adapt to new challenges by taking the necessary steps, but will not end its efforts to promote international dialogue and cooperation.

“A new bloc confrontation, a division of the world into ‘us against them’ is not in our interest,” he stressed.

“Yes, we must reduce our vulnerability, reduce one-sided dependencies. But that doesn't mean less networking with the world, but more,” he added.