Grandfather in the Wehrmacht Moscow rejects Baerbock's UN candidacy with Nazi reference
Germany's Foreign Minister Baerbock wants to go to the UN. Moscow has something against it - and cites old family ties as justification.
18.03.2025, 23:04
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Russia rejects the candidacy of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for the presidency of the UN General Assembly.
- Baerbock is to be elected by the UN General Assembly at the beginning of June and take up her one-year term in September.
- For Russia, Baerbock is the granddaughter of a Nazi who is proud of her grandfather's "heroic deeds".
Russia rejects the candidacy of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for the presidency of the UN General Assembly in the 2025/2026 session. "It would be strange 80 years after the victory (in the Second World War) to see the granddaughter of a Nazi proud of her grandfather's 'heroic deeds' in the post of chair of the General Assembly," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, according to the state news agency Tass.
According to information obtained by the German Press Agency from government circles in Berlin, the German government intends to nominate the Green politician as the German candidate for the post. A corresponding cabinet decision by circular resolution has therefore been initiated.
Baerbock is to be elected by the UN General Assembly at the beginning of June and take up her one-year term of office in September. The office of President of the United Nations General Assembly is not to be confused with that of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The Green politician speaks openly about her grandfather, who was an officer in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front. Moscow has repeatedly brought up his Nazi past in order to discredit the German foreign minister.