The following interview with Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was published in the BILD newspaper on 11 February 2011 The questions were put by Jan W. Schäfer

-----------------------------------------------------

Question: Germany will be on the Security Council for two years – what’s your main goal?

Foreign Minister Westerwelle: We want to help resolve or prevent regional conflicts and make the world a more peaceful place. We Germans are considered to be a very reliable country at the United Nations. We also want to see progress in the sphere of disarmament. Should, for example, ever more states acquire nuclear weapons, there will be a growing danger that these weapons will fall into the hands of terrorists. That’s something we have to prevent.

Question: Will you put Egypt on the agenda?

Foreign Minister Westerwelle: There’s no international meeting at present which doesn’t look at Egypt. The international community and the United Nations have to support change in Egypt in a way that doesn’t jeopardize either internal or external peace. We’re also concerned about the security of our friend and partner Israel.

Questions: Where should Egypt go from here?

Foreign Minister Westerwelle: We need a comprehensive dialogue now between government and opposition. Political change will brook no delay. We as democrats stand on the side of democrats. We have called on the Egyptian Government to lift the state of emergency and guarantee human rights and freedom of opinion.