I still vividly remember the first time I interviewed Jean Asselborn. I was really nervous as a young journalist. For our talk today, the Steinfort-born politician invited me to his office.
Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs seems a bit groggy, but there is a simple explanation: he underwent knee surgery less than two months ago. “I am not yet fully recovered”, these were the first words that I heard from him.
We both share a passion for sport and cycling. Doctors recently advised to find a middle ground: yes to movement, but not in an excessive manner.
Jean Asselborn will turn 74 in April. He has now been Foreign Minister for close to 20 years.
In 2004, the world was still in order and full of hope, said Asselborn. Americans and Russians were able to interact with each other. Asselborn said that it was unimaginable that the Russians would decide to fundamentally turn the world upside down on 24 February 2022.
“It is as if one were to say gravity no longer exists. That is how it is in foreign affairs, all the rules created over time were suspended by the Russians on 24 February. That means the civilised rules of international law. And that hurts. It made everything immensely difficult.”
Asselborn explained that it no longer suffices to send defensive weapons to Ukraine and that now heavy weaponry has also become necessary to thwart the Russian offensive and ensure that Ukraine is not overrun. If Ukraine has no means of defending itself, then the Russian troops will be at the Polish border in a matter of weeks, he further noted.
“If Putin gets away with this, then democracy, the rule of law, and everything that we have built in terms of fundamental values since World War II will be in danger. For our children and their children. The effort with heavy weaponry has unfortunately become necessary. If we miss this moment, then our values will be in danger. And theses values are stopped with blood, not with money as we know it, but with the blood of Ukrainians.”
NATO is not at war with Russia, said the Minister. Weapons deliveries are coming from individual countries and are delivered for defensive purposes, he further noted.
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, took office the same year as Minister Asselborn. Both men used to meet twice a year, said Asselborn, but argued that he is no longer the same person.
The politician from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) said that he no longer has any diplomatic ties with Russia. He believes that it makes no sense to talk at the moment.
“It burdens you and makes you question something fundamental: is diplomacy even able to create peace in such a situation. And that is what is fatal, when diplomacy no longer works, only violence will.”
Asselborn expressed relief that there is still a line of contact between the US American and Russian armies. As long as president Putin is at the helm, a normal relationship with the west is not possible, said Asselborn.
Editor’s note: Although Luxembourg maintains an embassy in Russia, and the Russian embassy is still present in the Grand Duchy, the foreign minister currently has no direct contact with Russia, as is the case for virtually all EU member states.
Iran, Afghanistan, and many other countries in the world have no respect for human rights and for women’s rights in particular, argued Asselborn. This puts the EU to the test, as specific sanctions against these regimes are the right way forward, according to the LSAP politician.
Turkey remains a problem child due to its position on the potential NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland, said Asselborn.
Asselborn ran for a first time in the general elections as an LSAP candidate in 1984. This year’s elections will be the ninth time he runs for office. As an incumbent minister, he should be able to run again, said Asselborn.
“As long as I am here, as long as I have a function, I need to have the energy to counter. And I have that. One should first wait for what the voter has to say before thinking about posts and coalitions. I don’t know exactly when the elections will be, but they will be held in October and we have to wait and see what the voter has to say and then we draw the right consequences.”
I did not learn what this means exactly during the interview, nor did I learn whether Asselborn sees himself sitting in the Chamber.
