Are we living in an era where traditional diplomacy has little influence? Is the world moving toward a time when individual states increasingly use military force to assert their interests? If so, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made a conscious effort this week to set a different tone. The German chief diplomat was unusually busy.

On Monday, the politician from the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

Afterward, Wadephul attended a conference at the German Foreign Office on energy security in Ukraine, which was also attended by representatives from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs.…