“In his State of the Union address, President Obama set important foreign policy priorities which we share and support.
I welcome the fact that the President aims at further progress on nuclear disarmament. Nuclear disarmament and non proliferation are key security policy challenges of our time. I therefore hope that Russia will take up the offer to continue negotiations.
Moreover, the Federal Government expressly welcomes President Obama’s commitment to negotiations on a transatlantic free trade zone. I hope for strong political momentum in this direction so that words will be swiftly followed by deeds. Enhanced trade and investment can drive growth on both sides of the Atlantic without running up new debt.
The announcement of a further American troop drawdown in Afghanistan bears witness to the world’s united stance on the implementation of the agreed Afghanistan strategy. The international community is on schedule as far as the handover of responsibility for security and the withdrawal of combat forces by the end of 2014 is concerned.”