Foreign relations

Guido Westerwelle's first official visit to Paris was not his first stop as Germany's new foreign minister. Instead, Westerwelle chose Warsaw – a move that many commentators saw as an attempt by the new government coalition to improve ties with Eastern Europe and particularly Poland.

However, the decision may have been read a little differently in France. German foreign ministers have generally made Paris their first stop after taking office but this time, the French capital was not second, but third, on the new minister's list.

After travelling to Warsaw on Saturday, Westerwelle stopped briefly in the Netherlands on Monday before travelling to Paris later in the day. After talks with his Dutch counterpart Maxime Verhagen in the Hague, Westerwelle said it was the aim of German policy to show smaller European countries respect and treat them as equals.

"Europe is not an assembly of just a few large countries," he said.

German-Franco friendship

In Paris, following talks with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Westerwelle told reporters that the relationship between France and Germany was "very special." He said fears that he might consider the ties to be of less importance than his precedessors were unfounded.

Westerwelle said his first visit to France was a "matter of the heart" for him, adding that the trip was not just a political act but one which gave him personal joy.

Kouchner also emphasized the "special relationship" between the two countries, which he said was also taking Europe forward.

Westerwelle won't speak French, either

Following criticism of Westerwelle after he refused to answer a question in English from a reporter in Berlin, French reporters were keen to test the new foreign minister's knowledge of their native tongue.

"I manage to get through a holiday in France without starving or dying of thirst," Westerwelle said. But he would not give journalists a sample, saying his French was still not good enough.

ca/dpa/AFP/Reuters

Editor: Jennifer Abrahmsohn