Abu Dhabi - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in the capital of the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, Abu Dhabi, on the last stop of his tour of Pakistan and the Gulf.

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was flying to Pakistan Monday at the start of a four-day diplomatic tour that will also take in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The onslaught of terrorist attacks and the growing financial crisis in Pakistan are expected to dominate his talks with Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Berlin - Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) forma

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier hit out Wednesday the critics of the six-point European Union peace plan for the Georgia-Russia conflict.

"I find it a bit shabby the way it is being disparaged," said Steinmeier during a debate in the Bundestag parliament.

He praised France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had negotiated the plan in "difficult" talks in Moscow and Tbilisi.

"This conflict and people's deaths in the southern Caucasus ended because the European Union took up the case," said the minister.

Berlin- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is to appeal to Tehran to make a constructive response to the current offer from world powers over Iran's controversial nuclear programme in talks Monday with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki.

Steinmeier's spokesman said ahead of the meeting in Berlin that Mottaki had asked for the talks.

"Our offer is on the table. We hope Iran will give a constructive

answer," Jens Ploetner said.

Berlin  - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier Friday welcomed a power-sharing agreement between the main parties in Zimbabwe.

"I hope this paves the way to a peaceful future," Steinmeier said.

The issue now was to tackle the southern African country's problems, he said, adding that Zimbabwe urgently needed a fresh political and economic start.

Steinmeier said Germany would assess the new government on the basis of its achievements.

"I expect that a framework will soon be created in which democratic freedoms are respected and economic development becomes possible," he said.