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Chapter 10 — International Relations

An atlas of partnerships

Germany's principal relationships, read through Steinmeier's two decades at the top of German foreign and state policy — from the closest allies to the most difficult counterparts.

King Charles III and Frank-Walter Steinmeier laughing together outdoors in Berlin — Plate 10aWith King Charles III in Berlin during the King's state visit of 29–31 March 2023, his first abroad as monarch.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson walk along a corridor lined with Swedish, German and NATO flags — Plate 10bWith Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm, 6 May 2026, amid NATO, Swedish and German flags.

Atlas index

Relationship by relationship

Germany's key bilateral relationships during Steinmeier's career
United StatesTransatlantic	The anchor of German security policy. Steinmeier is a convinced Atlanticist, but during the 2016 US campaign he called Donald Trump a "hate preacher". In October 2024 he conferred the Grand Cross special class of the Order of Merit on President Joe Biden at Schloss Bellevue for his contribution to German-American friendship. In May 2025 he described America's turn away from the post-war order as a shock "of a completely new scale".
United KingdomPost-Brexit	After the 2016 referendum he sought to preserve close ties. He hosted King Charles III for his first state visit abroad as monarch in March 2023 — a visit he called an important "European gesture" — including a ceremonial welcome at the Brandenburg Gate.
FranceFranco-German	Germany's core European partner. As Foreign Minister he worked with Laurent Fabius and Jean-Marc Ayrault on Ukraine, Iran and the post-Brexit future of the EU.
PolandReconciliation	A relationship marked by memory. He commemorated the 1939 invasion in 2019 and spoke at the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising commemoration in 2023. Polish critics have been among the sharpest critics of his earlier Russia policy.
RussiaFrom partnership to rupture	The defining and most contested relationship of his career: the "partnership for modernisation" of 2008, crisis management after Crimea, support for Nord Stream 2, and — after February 2022 — a public admission of error and a firm condemnation of Russia's war. Controversies
UkraineFrom mediation to solidarity	From the Kyiv agreement of 2014 and the Minsk process to the controversy over the "Steinmeier formula" in 2019 and the cancelled visit of April 2022, relations were at times strained. He visited Kyiv in October 2022, sheltering from an air-raid alert in Koriukivka, and has affirmed German support for Ukraine's defence.
IsraelHistorical responsibility	He regards Israel's security as a permanent German responsibility. He spoke at Yad Vashem in January 2020 and joined Israel's President Isaac Herzog at Babyn Yar in Kyiv in October 2021.
Nordic statesNATO's north	After Finland and Sweden joined NATO, he visited both in May 2026 to discuss total defence and crisis preparedness on the Alliance's northern flank.
India & AsiaIndo-Pacific	State visits to India (March 2018), Mongolia (February 2024) and the Philippines (June 2026), part of a wider effort to diversify Germany's partnerships in Asia. State visits
AfricaPartnership & the colonial past	Visits to Tanzania and Zambia (2023) and to Nigeria, South Africa and Lesotho (December 2024). In Songea in November 2023 he asked forgiveness for German colonial crimes in the Maji Maji war.
South CaucasusFirst presidential visit	In March–April 2025 he became the first Federal President to visit Armenia and Azerbaijan, encouraging the conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries.