Bijan Djir-Sarai in “Early Start”
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards belong on the EU’s terror list”
11/15/2022, 10:08 am
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai welcomes the condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine at the G20 summit in Bali and supports further EU sanctions against Iran. In the dispute over the citizens’ income, he meets the Union.
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai welcomed the condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in the final declaration of the G20 summit in Bali. “That is indeed gratifying, because that is not a matter of course,” said Djir-Sarai in ntv’s “early start”. It is a very important sign, even if not all participating states in Bali want to go along with the economic sanctions against Russia, such as India, South Africa or the host country Indonesia. “But the crystal-clear condemnation of the war of aggression in Ukraine is a very good step in my view,” said Djir-Sarai.
As a lesson from Germany’s fatal dependence on Russia, a new approach must be taken to dealing with China, Germany’s most important trading partner. “Decoupling or decoupling will not work, the strategy must be diversification,” says Djir-Sarai. “And accordingly, it is good that economic cooperation with countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam is being deepened.”
“Promoting and challenging is part of it”
The European Union wants to take more concrete action against the government in Tehran and impose further sanctions. The question is whether the Revolutionary Guards also belong on the EU’s terror list. “In my view, that would also be a necessity,” said the Secretary General and former foreign policy expert. He declared that he supports the government’s recent statements as a step in the right direction. “There must be more, but what the Chancellor said at the weekend, clearly condemning the Iranian leadership in Tehran, is for me a sign that a new Iran strategy is emerging here.”
In the dispute over citizen income, Djir-Saai meets the CDU/CSU. “If the Union is of the opinion that there are ways to tighten sanctions, to make this system of citizen income more efficient, then we are very happy to talk to the Union about this question.” You can also negotiate about sanctions, additional income opportunities and other qualification measures.
In principle, there are still “large overlaps” with the Union, and the FDP has already tightened the first draft by SPD Labor Minister Hubertus Heil. “We have made it clear that the principle of promoting and challenging is part of it. And it is extremely important to us as the FDP that performance is recognizable here. Anyone who works must have more than someone who doesn’t work,” said Djir-Sarai. “And if the Union shares ideas of this kind and also supports making the system better, then that would of course be advantageous for talks.”