state of democratic elections. Transatlantic relations Annen has frequently expressed dissatisfaction with the information provided by NATO headquarters. Following statements by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Philip M. Breedlove, on troop advances on the border between Russia and Ukraine in early 2015, Annen publicly complained that "NATO in the past has always announced a new Russian offensive just as, from our point of view, the time had come for cautious optimism." He added that "we parliamentarians were often confused by information regarding alleged troop movements that were inconsistent with the information we had." In 2008, Annen called on the United States to remove all nuclear weapons stored in military bases in Germany after a U.S. Air Force report found that safety standards at most sites for nuclear weapons in Europe fall well short of Pentagon requirements. In July 2015, Annen joined Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on a trip to Cuba; it was the first time a German foreign minister had visited the country since German reunification in 1990. On military engagement on the African continent Annen has in the past voted in favor of German participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions as well as in United Nations-mandated European Union peacekeeping missions on the African continent, such as in Somalia – Operation Atalanta (2014) and EUTM Somalia (2015 and 2016) –, Darfur/Sudan (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018), South Sudan (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018), the Central African Republic (2014) and Mali – both MINUSMA (2014, 2017 and 2018) and EUTM Mali (2015 and 2018). On the Ukraine crisis Regarding the conflict in Ukraine Annen has advocated for continued dialogue with the Russian Federation in order to facilitate "good neighbourly relations." However, he supported economic sanctions against Russia as well as its exclusion from the G7 saying that "Russia un-invited itself" with the internationally wrongful annexation of Crimea. Moreover, he supported the absence of Chancellor Angela Merkel from the festivities for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Russia on 9 May 2015 stating that "the political conditions for a German participation in the festivities are currently not fulfilled." Annen also responded angrily to statements by U.S. Senator John McCain who alleged that Germany was pursuing appeasement policies akin to those of the 1930s. Furthermore, he stated that "nobody in Europe did as much to support peace in Europe as Steinmeier and