The Greens urged the German government to provide more active exit assistance for the thousands of German citizens stranded in the region because of the Iran conflict.
Foreign‑policy spokesperson for the Greens’ Bundestag faction, Deborah Düring, told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that “Johann Wadephul capitulates before his own responsibility”.
While British officials were preparing concrete evacuations for their nationals, Düring criticised the German government’s claim that it could do nothing. She said, “Whoever does not implement emergency plans in an escalation of this size either failed to plan ahead or did not grasp the seriousness of the situation. Both are fatal”.
Düring added that the German government must take its protective duties seriously and ensure its citizens are not left abandoned in a crisis. She demanded that Germany immediately coordinate alternative exit routes and, in close cooperation with international partners, create safe evacuation options.
Foreign Minister Wadephul had earlier given no hope of quick evacuation or exit assistance to the thousands of Germans trapped by the war. He said the affected people are informed daily about the situation and possible options. Because of closed airspace, regular exit or evacuation with the air force is impossible in many places. Travellers accept some responsibility for their own safety, Wadephul noted, but his office remains in close dialogue with all travel‑traffic companies.