Merkel Addresses Congress, Wants Climate Pact

German chancellor speaks to joint session

By the Associated Press

Posted Nov 3, 2009 2:39 PM CST

(AP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by exhorting the world in a speech to Congress to "tear down the walls of today" and reach a deal to combat global warming. Merkel, frequently interrupted by robust applause, also reiterated her country's commitment to fostering security in Afghanistan and said that a nuclear bomb in the hands of Iran "is not acceptable."

In the first address by a German chancellor to Congress since Konrad Adenauer in 1957, Merkel put special emphasis on the need for a global agreement on climate change—one she said she hoped could be forged at an international conference next month in Copenhagen. "We have no time to lose," she declared. "Today's generation needs to prove that it is able to meet the challenges of the 21st century, and that, in a sense, we are able to tear down walls of today," she said.

[Images (7)]

[Quotes (1)]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a joint session of Congress. (J. David Ake)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a joint session of Congress. (Alex Brandon)

President Barack Obama meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets pages after addressing a joint session of Congress, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009,on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Alex Brandon)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a joint session of Congress. (Alex Brandon)

Vice President Joseph R. Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi listen while German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a joint session of Congress. (Getty Images)

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A nuclear bomb in the hands of an Iranian president who denies the Holocaust, threatens Israel and denies Israel the right to exist is not acceptable.
- Angela Merkel

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Merkel Addresses Congress, Wants Climate Pact