The newspaper report stated: “Berlin has not only lost its influence in the Arab world but also across the Global South. Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and now Friedrich Merz have squandered the trust Germany once held on the international stage.”

The paper considered the Sharm El-Sheikh summit to have “clearly shown Germany’s isolation,” noting that the leaders of the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey signed the Gaza peace agreement, which former US President Donald Trump described as “the most complex and largest deal in history,” while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called it a “decisive historic turning point.”

The report pointed out that “Merz played no significant role during the peace summit held in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, as he did not hold press conferences nor participate in the main discussions, content with observing the summit proceedings from afar.”

The newspaper explained that one reason for the deterioration of Germany’s diplomatic position was Baerbock’s statements in October 2024, which were internationally interpreted as justifying Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza. It confirmed that “the current German government is paying the price for those positions today.”

Baerbock, currently serving as President of the UN General Assembly, said on October 10, 2024, when she was Germany’s Foreign Minister, that “civilian sites may lose their protected status when exploited by terrorists. This is Germany’s position, and for us, it means providing security for Israel.”

Germany is the second-largest arms supplier to Israel after the United States and continues to supply Tel Aviv with weapons under temporarily defined conditions, while continuously affirming that Israel’s security is a German national interest. However, the use of these weapons in the Gaza war has sparked widespread domestic and international controversy, with increasing calls to review or temporarily suspend this policy in response to humanitarian concerns and accusations of violating international law.

It is worth noting that German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock previously visited Israel following the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Source: “Berliner Zeitung” + RT