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"We are highly concerned at current developments" – Interview with Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier on the Middle East, during the ZDF's "heute-journal" news programme, on 13 July 2006
Question: The situation is now much more serious than previously forecast. Let's begin with the Middle East – is the state of affairs in the Holy Land getting out of control? Answer: In any case developments ... are very worrying. Following a hopeful start last week, in which President Abbas, along with parts of the Hamas government, began moves which made us hopeful that we could return to the roadmap – the process of rapprochement between the Palestinian territories and Israel –, we now face a completely different chain of events: the first stage of escalation following the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier, and now a second stage with the reactions you have seen yesterday and today. (This is) clearly a situation which makes it incumbent upon all of us to help get the process back under control. Q: You say incumbent. What can you, do you intend to do, Germany and the US? A: As I have been doing over the past few days, only an hour or so ago I called my Israeli and Egyptian colleagues ... The Egyptian government has for many days now been trying to help achieve a way back, a de-escalation. Unfortunately the Egyptians, too, have not been successful up to now. We must continue our efforts and we have ... agreed on which of the parties in the region we must apply further pressure. Here Syria plays a certain ... role which I ... believe allows it, if this is at all possible, to put pressure on Hamas in order to ... achieve the return of the soldier kidnapped on the Israeli border. I think this would be the first and decisive step which has to be made. The second step (would be) the immediate return of the soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah. Without these steps I fear we will not be able to get the situation under control over the next few days. Q: What are you telling our Israeli friends? A: I'm telling them that we understand that every country has to maintain its defences, and that if such border events as we have recently seen occur twice, it must defend its borders. We understand that Israel is searching for those responsible for this kidnapping. But we also say that the means used in this search and in the reaction must not be out of proportion, of course with a particular view to developments in Lebanon ... We all remember the events there in recent years ... and the efforts required to keep this fragile state together. We have to see to it that no renewed instability arises, and for that reason we say to Israel that it too must ensure that Lebanon is not destabilized by the Israeli reaction. Q: You are calling for the use of appropriate means. Are attacks on Beirut itself still appropriate? A: As I learned today, the attacks took place because the Israelis had information that there was a danger of the airport being used to fly the kidnapped soldiers out. I cannot judge from here whether that information is correct. But the destruction of infrastructure is in my view not ... an appropriate form of reaction. Q: Let us briefly touch on the subject of Iran. The international community demanded that Iran give an answer to the offers, presented after long negotiations, by the time the G8 Summit begins in Saint Petersburg. This reply is not forthcoming. Iran intends to keep us waiting until 22 August. Do the US President and the German Chancellor have the feeling that the mullahs are "leading them up the garden path"? A: Yesterday we had a detailed meeting of foreign ministers on this issue and we took joint decisions. That is the most important thing at the moment. I feel that only by maintaining the consensus of the international community can we exercise pressure on the Iranian leadership. And that was necessary now that Iran, contrary to the announcements made during the meeting between the Iranian chief negotiator and EU High Representative Javier Solana, has not sent any concrete signal. It was clear to Tehran that in that case we had to return to the UN Security Council, as no signs at all of concessions on the part of the Iranians were recognizable. In the resolution which the Security Council members will now draft we will declare the suspension of enrichment activities legally binding. I think that will happen next week, and we will of course continue our efforts vis-à-vis Iran to return to the negotiating table. But let me repeat that the decision on whether that will happen lies not with the international community but with Iran, and it is there that the decision must be taken. Q: ... When will the German government call for sanctions against Iran? A: The German government cannot call for anything at the moment. As you know, the negotiating package contains offers, but also possible sanctions. In fact sanctions were not agreed on yesterday. I'm sure that, following yesterday's foreign ministers' meeting and tomorrow's meeting of heads of government at the G8 Summit, we will have another reasonable deadline within which Iran can decide to take up the offer, return to the negotiating table and allow for a diplomatic solution. This is my wish, this is what we all hope will happen.
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