Berlin - The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schr÷der, accepted the resignation of his leading foreign affairs adviser yesterday after he allegedly insulted army officers over a Moscow flight delay and demanded they serve him caviar.
Always at the chancellor's side on trips abroad and during meetings with foreign leaders, Mr Michael Steiner was seen as the main architect of an increasingly muscular German foreign policy under Mr Schr÷der, alongside the Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, with whom he often locked horns behind the scenes.
The resignation comes at a challenging time in foreign affairs for Mr Schr÷der, as he struggles to hold together his coalition with Mr Fischer's Green party, split over his decision to commit German troops to the US-led war in Afghanistan.