German Defense Minister criticizes von der Leyen’s remarks

Troisdorf (dpa) – The German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has sharply criticized statements made by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding military security guarantees for Ukraine. He fundamentally believes it is wrong to discuss such topics before sitting at the negotiating table, the politician said during a visit to a German defense company.

“So aside from the fact that the European Union has no responsibilities or competencies regarding the deployment of troops – regardless of who and for what – I would be cautious about confirming or commenting on such considerations in any way,” said Pistorius. 

There are ongoing considerations about “what is possible, what is not” and under what reservations and conditions something would even be conceivable. “But to discuss this publicly at this point in time, I consider totally wrong,” he said.

Pistorius reacted to media reports that von der Leyen spoke about a roadmap – that is, a plan – for the deployment of a multinational force in Ukraine. She reportedly told the “Financial Times” that plans for this are already quite detailed. Ukraine is demanding security guarantees against Russian attacks as part of a possible peace solution. (September 1)