(Bloomberg) -- As Germany's new foreign minister gets to grips with his new role, he's reaching back to his musical youth to help understand the threats Brexit might pose for Ireland.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Thursday, Heiko Mass recalled listening to U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday, one of the band's best-known anthems, a mediation on the troubles which gripped Northern Ireland centering on the 1972 killings of civilians by British soldiers in Derry, which is also known to the unionist community as Londonderry.
Maas went on to say that Germany “understands” the history of Ireland and that everything possible must be done to avoid a ‘flare-up” in violence as he pledged Germany's full support in avoiding a hard border in Ireland after Brexit.
Standing behind him, a beaming Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney promised to treat Maas to a trip to Cork, where he'd backpacked in his younger days. A beautiful day for him.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Vidya Root at vroot@bloomberg.net.
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