YouSaid · the spoken record

Steinmeier

lines on the record
26
first
2014-09-19
most recent
2016-02-29
sittings or episodes
3
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “I hope that we will achieve some progress, especially on the security situation and on our discussion on the election. The meeting rose at 12.05 p.rn.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  2. “Mr. Steinmeier: I do not want to repeat myself and my statement from the beginning. I will avoid responding to representatives' comments. I only want to thank you, Mr. President, for your kind invitation and the members for all their comments. We are really grateful for members' support regarding our priorities for the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2016 and for their readiness for cooperation, which they have offered in this Chamber. Members must ensure that we remain engaged in using the tools of the OSCE in order to improve the security situation on the European continent, especially as we progress on the way to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. As our friend the Ambassador of France announced, we will be meeting in Paris on Thursday.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  3. “But if we want to be able to look future generations in the eye and say that we did everything possible to return to peace in Europe, we have to work on it together, in the OSCE and in the United Nations.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  4. “Germany is fully aware of the responsibility attached to assuming the OSCE chairmanship in these turbulent times. I am convinced that we have to remain firm with respect to our principles. At the same time, I believe that we need to promote dialogue and a cooperative approach so as to overcome our differences and put us back on track towards restored security. We should remind ourselves of the spirit of Helsinki: persistent dialogue and a cooperative approach can pay off in the end. This very hope is expressed in our motto for 2016: "Renewing dialogue, rebuilding trust and restoring security". This embraces the spirit of the United Nations Charter. Rebuilding trust will not be easy, and there is no quick fix.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  5. “The OSCE is a unique organization, but my hope is that its principles can provide a glimmer of hope to other regions, particularly in the Middle East. Let us remember that the road to Helsinki began when the Cold War was at its coldest. At the start of the negotiations, who would have dared to hope that at the end of it, the Berlin Wall would fall? Of course, one cannot transfer a security architecture to another region. But perhaps our experiences can highlight useful principles and processes, and maybe they can encourage the parties in the Middle East to live up to their responsibility and explore new paths to political settlements. This is a discussion that we started at the OSCE conference in Amman last year and on which we would like to build.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  6. “That is why we want to discuss how the OSCE can contribute to the international efforts, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (General Assembly resolution 70/1). Human rights and fundamental freedoms are top priorities of our chairmanship. I believe that we need to intensify the fight against discrimination, racism, xenophobia and intolerance throughout Europe, including in my own country. In Germany, people's overwhelming readiness to help arriving refugees has recently been overshadowed by xenophobic assaults. These are despicable acts that we must not and will not tolerate. Finally, I would like to highlight the fact that security within the OSCE area is intrinsically tied to the security of its neighbours.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  7. “We will also address the role of women in conflict management and the protection of women in violent conflicts, in line with resolution 1325 (2000). The experience of the United Nations in all these areas can enrich this process. I believe that we are more likely to be successful if we work closely together and combine our toolboxes. The same is true when it comes to addressing the many other global challenges we face, from terrorism and extremism to organized crime. I believe that the pressing issue of migration should figure more prominently on our agenda. I welcome the Secretary- General's initiative to organize a global summit on migration in September. The OSCE has a lot of expertise in this field, from human rights standards and best practices in labour migration to combatting human trafficking.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  8. “The Ukraine conflict has revealed that it needs to be updated substantially. Progress will be difficult, of course, when confidence is low, but I am convinced that the proposals we have made would lead to better crisis prevention and risk reduction. On the basis of these confidence-building measures, I do hope that we will eventually return to a broader dialogue on European security. We should adhere to the long-term vision of renewed arms control and cooperative security in Europe. The OSCE and the United Nations share the task of preventing armed conflicts. I believe we should make every effort to strengthen OSCE capabilities in this field, from early warning to crisis management to post- conflict rehabilitation.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  9. “In Georgia, we have seen at least some progress on practical cooperation between the sides. I want to commend the efforts undertaken by the United Nations, jointly with the OSCE and the European Union, in the Geneva international discussions. We want to underpin this momentum with more confidence-building measures and humanitarian action. We will also use the chairmanship to revive the 5+2 negotiations on the Transnistria conflict. My third point concerns security- and confidence- building measures. Whether we look at Ukraine, Russia or Turkey, we are currently seeing increased military activities and a high risk of military incidents between OSCE member States. In these times, confidence- and security-building measures are more important than ever. One important element is the Vienna Document.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  10. “I believe that we should not adopt this kind of fatalism. For many years, these conflicts have brought hardship to the people affected and stagnation to the regions involved. During our OSCE chairmanship, we want to make every effort to return to more constructive approaches, to stabilize ceasefires, and to rebuild trust by building confidence in small but tangible steps. In the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, we are concerned about the high number of deadly incidents along the line of contact and the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We need to intensify efforts under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. We must find ways to reduce the number of casualties quickly, and we should not be disheartened in seeking a lasting solution to the conflict on the basis of the principles of territorial integrity and the non-use of force.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  11. “Without the OSCE and particularly the courageous men and women of the Special Monitoring Mission we would not have made the progress we have seen on military de-escalation and at least a partial withdrawal of weapons. However, we remain deeply concerned over the continuing violations of the ceasefire and the restrictions of access for the Mission. I strongly believe that implementing the Minsk agreements is the only way towards a sustainable political solution, and I call on both sides represented in the Council to live up to their responsibilities. Together with our French colleagues, we remain committed to supporting this process within the Normandy format, and I count on the support of the Council in this regard. Secondly, I would like to highlight conflicts that are often referred to as "frozen" or "protracted".”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  12. “The United Nations was created to do exactly that, and the same holds for the OSCE. I firmly believe that these two organizations continue to give us the best tools we have to shape the future of a rules-based international order and to prevent the fragility of our time from turning into perpetual disorder. That is why these two institutions are so important, particularly in our turbulent times. We want the OSCE to help us overcome the fragile security situation, in close cooperation with the United Nations. Let me highlight some focal areas of our chairmanship. The first is Ukraine. The developments in and around Ukraine have shown how indispensable the OSCE is when it comes to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, as the Charter of the United Nations says.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  13. “The world of today is different; its conflicts are of a new kind - more complex, with more actors and more conflicting interests - so yesterday's arguments are, from my point of View, not only inappropriate; they are counterproductive. Secondly, I am convinced that the principles to which we have all agreed in the United Nations and the OSCE, such as the territorial integrity and sovereign equality of nations, must still form the bedrock of how we live together as nations. These commitments still form the basis for overcoming divisions, provided that all States muster the necessary political will. Thirdly, we need strong multilateral organizations to help safeguard and implement these principles, to give us tools for conflict resolution, and to provide us with opportunities for debate to overcome our differences.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  14. “All of those developments are challenging our common security more fundamentally than we long thought possible. Maintaining international peace and security, that is what the Charter of the United Nations provides for; while a new era of democracy, peace and unity in Europe was the vision in the Charter of Paris. However, this vision of a Europe whole and free has not yet materialized and, even worse, the principles of international law, as stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations and OSCE documents, seem to be coming under more and more pressure. How should we respond? What should our guiding principles be in these uncertain times? First, let us face this world with a realistic eye - with the eye oftoday not of yesterday. We are not reliving the Cold War, and we should not talk as if we were.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  15. “As an European organization, I have to start with our own region. Violent crises and conflicts surround us, even on our own continent of Europe - and it is not only about Ukraine. In a very real sense, the Russian annexation of Crimea brought back to our agenda concerns about our common European security. At the same time, violence has spiked in regions of the Middle East and Northern Africa. Oppression, terror, religious radicalism and regional rivalries have led to immeasurable human suffering, especially in Syria. The brutal conflicts in the Middle East have also reached the European continent. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and are seeking shelter in Europe, many of them, as members know, in Germany.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  16. “Mr. Steinmeier: It is an honour for me to address the Security Council today as Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the largest regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations. First of all, allow me to pay tribute to the late Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. His "Agenda for Peace" (S/24lll) not only marked a milestone for the international order after the Cold War. It was also Boutros-Ghali who recognized the important role of regional organizations in conflict settlement. He laid the foundation for the strong relationship between the United Nations and the OSCE - a relationship we would like to strengthen even further in 2016. Nobody will deny that the challenges we are facing are enormous.”

    2016-02-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7635 (2016) · source

  17. “I therefore urge the Council to ensure that we all support an initiative driven by the United Nations for a political transition in Syria.”

    2015-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7527 (2015) · source

  18. “The standing channels of communication proposed by Foreign Minister Lavrov today should also be used in that effort, and I understood Secretary Kerry to have been hinting at the same direction when he offered de-confliction talks. Based on such cooperation, we must then explore together how best to pave the way for a peaceful and inclusive political transition in Syria. Building on extensive consultations, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, has laid out a road map for the process that Germany wholeheartedly supports. Germany does not want to see the Security Council divided on a matter of such importance. In the face of unspeakable human suffering, we in the United Nations all need to live up to our responsibility.”

    2015-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7527 (2015) · source

  19. “First and foremost, we must engage in a broad and meaningful political process before the final collapse of all the remaining State structures - which the devastated country of Syria will have to rebuild one day - and before the vicious ideology of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) can gain more ground amid the ruins of Syrian society. In order to find a starting point for that political process, we can build on decisions that have been unanimously adopted here in the Security Council, and in particular resolution 2139 (2014) of last year. Today the Council must join forces to see that the resolution is implemented, including ensuring humanitarian access and banning barrel bombs.”

    2015-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7527 (2015) · source

  20. “We have been speaking of the many conflicts haunting the Middle East, especially the terrible Syrian war, now in its fifth year. Yes, there is much we have to do, and there is much we have failed to achieve so far. But let me start with one thing that we have achieved, and that is the nuclear agreement with Iran. After more than 10 years of negotiation, that agreement has shown that diplomacy can overcome even the deepest rift if we give it a chance. It is crucial that we now use that momentum, that flicker of hope, to work towards a political solution in Syria as well. Today's debate has revealed some significant differences, but it has also highlighted common interests.”

    2015-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7527 (2015) · source

  21. “Today we are worried about the latest news after the ISIS attack on the Syrian city of Ayn Al-Arab and surrounding villages. Again people had to escape. History has shown that challenges as large as this can only be solved together. Germany is willing to do its share and to work together. I hope that all sides, especially in the region, will lend their active support as well. If we come together on this, we will reach a new level of cooperation, and we will succeed.”

    2014-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7271 (2014) · source

  22. “Today we arejustified in focusing on Iraq and Syria, but we should not forget that some of the neighbouring States are bearing a huge burden. To ease the hardship of Syrian refugees and the strain on Syria's neighbours, I will host a conference, together with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in Berlin on 28 October. The goal of the conference is to increase support for the countries most affected by refugee flows from Syria, namely, Lebanon and Jordan, but also Iraq and Turkey. Thirdly, we need to stop the flow of foreign fighters and financing to ISIL. The Security Council will take further action in that regard. We welcome the planned draft resolution on foreign terrorist fighters. Yesterday, I met my new colleague from Turkey, and we agreed to cooperate very closely, especially in the security sector.”

    2014-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7271 (2014) · source

  23. “I also welcome presidential statement S/PRST/2014/20, which was adopted today, as proof of the great support from all around the world, far beyond the Middle East region. Secondly, the battle ground is Syria is different from the one in Iraq, and is even more complex. Germany will continue to strengthen moderate voices and structures - they are, from my point of view, the only alternative to dictatorship and terrorism. We are grateful for the ongoing efforts of the United Nations to explore the basis for a political solution. We must coordinate our engagement very closely with United Nations institutions. We hope that the Secretary- General's Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, will bring new ideas, and hopefully a new approach, because we cannot allow ourselves to fail again, perhaps in the third round of the Geneva process.”

    2014-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7271 (2014) · source

  24. “Humanitarian aid is necessary, but it is not sufficient to stop the violence. That is why the German Government decided to provide the Kurdish security forces with weapons, ammunition and equipment, as well as training, which we are of course undertaking in close coordination with the Government in Baghdad. However, even humanitarian and military assistance will be futile if we lack a broader strategy against ISIL - a strategy that incorporates the necessary military means and tools into a political strategy. What are the aspects of such a strategy? First, we have supported the formation of a new Government in Iraq, which includes all ethnic, religious and political groups. I wish Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, who has our full support, every success.”

    2014-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7271 (2014) · source

  25. “Next week, under our chairmanship, we will discuss joint action against ISIL among the Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven (G-7), as well as at the G-7 Deauville Partnership meeting of Foreign Ministers. This is what I think we need to do. First of all, we continue to need humanitarian aid. We need to alleviate the suffering of hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons. I would like to thank the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other United Nations agencies for their hard work. Germany has so far provided $65 million for humanitarian aid and shelter. I visited Erbil a few weeks ago and I was shocked by the dire situation of refugees. Now, with winter approaching, we must work even harder to provide shelter for those who have fled ISIL attacks.”

    2014-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7271 (2014) · source

  26. “I thank you, Mr. President, for convening this meeting and for inviting non-members of the Security Council to participate. In Syria and Iraq, we are witnessing the return of barbarism. We are faced with an enemy that is not only a threat for Iraq or Syria or the Middle East, but a threat to all of us. We need to act. Fortunately, the international community has heard the call in Newport, Jeddah and Paris. Nations have met to confront the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) together. The Security Council consolidated the international alliance against this brutal enemy that is violating the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and violating humankind itself.”

    2014-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7271 (2014) · source