German president issues grave den of thieves warning about Trump and world order
BERLIN, Jan 8 (Reuters) – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s U.S. foreign policy and urged the world not to allow the world order to disintegrate into a “den of thieves” where the unscrupulous take what they want.
In unusually strong comments, which appeared to refer to actions such as the overthrow of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at the weekend, the former foreign minister said global democracy was under attack like never before.
Although the role of the German president is largely ceremonial, his words carry some weight and he has more freedom to express opinions than politicians.
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Describing Russia’s annexation of Crimea and full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a milestone, Steinmeier said the United States’ behavior represented a second historic break.
“Then there is the breakdown of values by our most important partner, the United States, which helped build this world order,” Steinmeier said at a symposium Wednesday night.
“This is about preventing the world from becoming a den of thieves, where the most unscrupulous take what they want, where entire regions or countries are treated as the property of a few great powers,” he said.
Active intervention in threatening situations is necessary and countries like Brazil and India must be convinced to protect the world order, he said.