Foreign Minister Maas in the security Council : All eyes on Venezuela

And once he's there. The possible case of an emergency. The threat of a conflict that has the potential to be a great to. It's noon on a Thursday (local time) in rainy New York, the German foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) had arrived the night before. On his schedule at the United Nations, the so-called Arria Meeting of the security Council, in the Germany in the next two years as a non-permanent member sits to this day. The Meeting, which is to manage the Meuse, with the representatives of great Britain, and Peru, is called "What's next for Women, Peace and Security in the Middle East and North Africa: The Potential of National Action Plan". It comes to violence against women in conflict zones. As luck would have it, are named in these informal meetings of the security Council, according to Diego Arria, former Permanent representative of Venezuela at the UN.

Exactly this, Venezuela is now overshadowed by the Premiere of the German foreign Minister in the security Council – and even their travel plans at risk. The prior saw that Maas flies in the Friday night back to Germany, after the session of the security Council, on which he was to hold in the Morning a speech (after the editorial deadline of this issue). But in the meantime, the situation in Venezuela has escalated dramatically.

special session in the Morning

Since Wednesday, when leader of the opposition, Juan Guaidó to the President has explained, the Venezuelans, besides, Nicolás Maduro, another head of state. The US has immediately put on the side of Guaidó and also a military Intervention is not excluded. Russia and China, both veto powers in the security Council, continue to adhere to the socialist Maduro government, and to warn the United States against intervening from the outside. The EU Commission, in turn, said Europe was "behind the forces of democracy" in Venezuela, so behind the Opposition. A dangerous crisis, which is now busy on the Saturday morning, the UN security Council: The United States have requested for nine o'clock for an emergency session, the us Secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. Maas, who then wanted to be back in Germany, reserves the right now to stay any longer.

Because after his first hesitant reaction to the events in Venezuela criticism was that Germany don't trust to position itself even more clearly – and to fresh the memory of 2011 is still, as a Berlin ban in the security Council for a no-fly zone in Libya included – not the foreign Minister, We are on Thursday afternoon in an Interview with Deutsche Welle, is clear: "neutral", " we stand on the side of Guaidó, because we have big problems, the choice of Maduro to recognize. It is obvious that there are so many violations of the right to vote has been given, that one can only speak conditionally of a democratic election. Therefore, we want to that there is now a new election.“

For disarmament advertise

Actually, it was Maas, who leads the state Department for ten months, to come with all of the other topics in the head of its Premiere in the security Council. He wants to use the two years to put its own accents. As the conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen, in the latter case, Germany wants to take on more responsibility, such as Maas. And since the armor is a dispute between the United States and Russia. Before he took the train to New York, he was briefly in Washington, where he was able to meet Pompeo, was not flown because of the shutdown of the world economic forum in Davos. Directly prior to that, he was in Moscow. It is a Mission driving force: He wants to advertise for disarmament, when all the others have no interest in it. Concretely, this means that he is not trying to convey a last-Minute deal between Moscow and Washington to the more than 30-year-old INF Treaty to ban ground-based nuclear medium-range tilts the rocket.

the after the 2. February can't come, if Russia fails to comply with a US-made Ultimatum and refuses to destroy his missiles 9M729, is more likely. This could be the set – up of the prelude to a new world of betting what is there to prevent the German foreign Minister with his Shuttle diplomacy. Even if he admits that it will be very difficult to keep the INF Treaty.

focus on climate change

almost as a predictive measure Meuse want to download the March to Berlin to a conference on the topic of arms control. It should go to weapons systems, for which there is currently no sufficient regulation, for example, cyber weapons and killer robots. Maas wants to start a discussion on this topic, at least.

another issue that Maas aims to promote in the two years of German security Council - membership is climate change and what are the dangers of it for the peace of the world. To do this, he wanted to keep his speech at the meeting on Friday.

the struggle in Venezuela is an International test of strength

think on the subject of peace on this day, almost everyone at once to Venezuela, and thus to a conflict, Germany's influence is manageable. In the planned emergency meeting on Saturday and it will then go also to the question of war and peace – the question, for it gives the security Council at all. But the world will again look primarily to the Act of the great powers.