Joschka Fischer
Joschka Fischer
Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischeris a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens. He served as Foreign Minister and as Vice Chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Fischer has been a leading figure in the West German Greens since the 1970s, and according to opinion polls, he was the most popular politician in Germany for most of the government's duration. Following the September 2005 election, in which the Schröder government was defeated, he left...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth12 April 1948
CountryGermany
It's a historic step Europe has won today. It's a big chance for both sides,
balanced the interests of both large and small member states.
The share of the vote that the ultra-right received is alarming, ... It's too early to tell. We have to wait to see the results of the runoff election.
That's what we are trying to do within the context of the international community.
We were in opposition to the decision to go to war. But after the war happened, it was clear that you could not sit and look-there would be a breeding ground for terrorism or a new collapsed or failed state named Iraq!
We will not send troops. Germany is not committed to Iraq - we will not commit ourselves with troops.
There are differences in the world community. But we have a common interest in a strong multilateral system.
We have an interest in excellent relations because we are neighbours as Europeans with Russia. We are allies with the United States in the NATO framework.
The United States is our most important ally. They helped us many times. Without the United States, the unification or German democratisation after the Nazi period would have been much more complicated, or almost impossible.
We have every interest in seeing that the military use of nuclear power will be contained.
We are ready to train new Iraqi forces outside Iraq. We did it in Abu Dhabi.
The situation in Iraq is dangerous but the regional situation is also very complicated and precarious.
We shouldn't act in way that, at the end, terrorist groups will be strengthened and not weakened, because they want to drive us into a war of the civilizations, ... We should react in a wise way based on a multilateral approach and based on the coalition in the war against terror.
Now you have to shoulder your responsibility to pave the way for a peaceful political future for your nation - a way which reflects your society's diversity and traditions and which will be acceptable to all Afghans. It is up to you the representatives of the Afghan people to seize this historic moment, ... Germany, the EU (European Union) and the international community led by the United Nations stand ready to help now and in long term.