Foreign Minister Steinmeier on the Suicide Bombing in Afghanistan

May 21, 2007

"The mission the Federal Armed Forces have assumed in the north of Afghanistan is a crucial contribution to stabilizing the whole country," Foreign Minister Steinmeier said about the attack in Kunduz that killed German soldiers and Afghan civilians and injured many.

Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued the following statement on May 19 on the suicide bombing of German soldiers in Kunduz, Afghanistan:

"I was profoundly shocked and grieved by the news of today's brutal terror attack in the north of Afghanistan that has claimed the lives of German soldiers and Afghan civilians and injured many others. In this difficult time our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with all those who have lost loved ones. They can be assured of our support. We wish all those who have been injured a full and speedy recovery.

With their callous act the perpetrators are aiming to destroy the hard-won order the Afghans have achieved since 2001. Without this basis the country would once again be plunged into violence and civil war.

This attack is a further demonstration that supposedly trouble-free or safe areas in Afghanistan do not exist. The mission the Federal Armed Forces has assumed in the north of Afghanistan is a crucial contribution to stabilizing the whole country.The support provided by the international community is intended to enable the Afghans to take responsibility themselves for their security. That is what those hostile to the building of a new Afghanistan fear. They want to sabotage this process through violence."

Advanced Search    Help

Statements & Speeches

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

Subscribe Here You can also read the current issues here.

Printer-Friendly Page