German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Saturday for a change in direction in the relationship between Europe and the United States. ( dpa )
Speaking at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, Steinmeier said the partnership between the US and Europe had to adapt and change in order to meet the new global challenges and possibilities.
For a secure world, it was important that Russia was also part of this process, Steinmeier said in a speech to an audience of several hundred academics, students and representatives of Boston's political and business communities.
Steinmeier said that future co-operation between between the US and Europe had to concentrate on three core goals - a sustainable world, a more secure world and a world with greater justice and openness.
He spoke of a transatlantic "climate bridge" and referred to success already achieved in technological cooperation with the aim of combatting climate change.
He emphasized the strategic importance for Europe and the US of maintaining Russia as an active and constructive partner.
He said that urgent world concerns such as the situation in Iran, the Middle East and arms control would be more difficult to address without Russia's co-operation.