“I found this statement unfortunate” reacted Thursday, April 13, the German Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, visiting Mali, after the remarks of French President Emmanuel Macron during a press conference in Amsterdam, Wednesday .
Fully assuming controversial remarks on Taiwan made public on Sunday, Emmanuel Macron declared that “being an ally (of the United States) does not mean being a vassal”. “It’s not because we are allies (…) that we no longer have the right to think for ourselves,” he added at a press conference in Amsterdam.
“We were never in danger of being or becoming a vassal of the United States,” Mr. Pistorius commented. This close friend of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is the first member of the German government to speak publicly about the words of the French head of state which have caused trouble among France’s allies.
“It doesn’t help us to divide ourselves”
“We must in future be able to speak as a European Union in terms of foreign policy, and also in terms of security policy,” added Mr. Pistorius, member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD ). However, “finding our own positions in agreement with (…) the United States is our duty”, he said.
“It doesn’t help us to be divided or let ourselves be divided on different positions. In the end, it only helps Chinese foreign policy,” he concluded.
