Germany will not discuss participation in peacekeeping mission until peace agreement is signed - Pistorius
Germany does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue before the agreement is signed, although it does not categorically reject the possibility of its representatives participating in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, if it is formed.
According to Censor.NET, citing Ukrinform, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this in an interview with German Radio.
Pistorius noted that he is "somewhat annoyed that different Europeans are now rushing forward and saying what they are or are not ready to do." Today, the politician is convinced, nothing can be promised, because it is not known whether an agreement will be reached at all, and if so, what the conditions will be, he said, commenting on statements by some of his European colleagues on the topic of a possible peacekeeping contingent.
At the same time, the head of the German Defense Ministry denied that Germany is not discussing the issue of possible involvement.
"As far as I know, no one has said this yet (that Germany will not participate in the peacekeeping contingent - ed.). Neither the chancellor nor I have ever ruled it out... Of course, Europe, Germany as NATO's largest partner in Europe, will participate in all significant peacekeeping activities, but the emphasis is on the important and security," Pistorius said.
He added that an important question will be who will give the mandate for such a mission: NATO, the European Union, or the UN (where Russia sits on the Security Council). This would mean that all decisions made there could again be influenced by Russia and/or China.
However, Pistorius noted, the discussions are non-public in order not to give "cards in the hands" of the parties that are currently engaged in a dialogue with each other, because "all speculation on this issue does not help anyone now, except for Vladimir Putin's negotiating position."
I'm not going to tell Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin what I'm willing to do and what I'm not willing to do until it's clear that we are involved in the peace process. Anything else would not be in the interests of Germany, nor in the interests of Europe, nor in the interests of our European NATO partners," Pistorius emphasized.
The German defense minister expressed his belief that "effective protection of peace for Ukraine after the conclusion of a peace agreement cannot be guaranteed without the ability of the Americans to deter Russia, at least in the first few years, without a very high risk for all involved," and Washington is well aware of this. So the strategy they have chosen now is very "strange."
Pistorius called it a mistake for the Americans to remove the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO and territorial issues before negotiations with Moscow began. He is convinced that this weakens the negotiations from the very beginning.
The German Defense Minister also called any attempts to negotiate without Ukraine "absolutely unacceptable." It is also unacceptable, he said, to exclude Europe, which Trump wants to put the burden of peacekeeping on.
According to the German minister, "the American president is, in a sense, turning global political circumstances upside down to force agreements in one place or another."
At the same time, he called for an end to constantly leaving it to the discretion of "one peacemaker from Washington" how Europe should respond to his statements.
"We, as Europe, are not just anybody, as he might like to see it. But we also need to take our role as Europeans seriously and stop walking around the world with this "cacophony" and hearing different voices every day about what Europe should do. We need unity," Pistorius emphasized.
Peacekeeping forces in Ukraine
Earlier, it was reported that French President Emmanuel Macron would discuss with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk the deployment of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine if an agreement is reached to end the current phase of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk denied that Polish troops would be sent to Ukraine after the ceasefire.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas assessed the possibility of sending a European peacekeeping mission to Ukraine.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crozetto expressed his readiness to support a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine if peace is achieved.
In turn, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called these discussions "premature."
Germany, together with its partners, will consider the possible deployment of peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of "security guarantees" only after the conditions are created, namely a ceasefire with Russia.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has stated that several countries are currently considering participation in a potential contingent of Western allies in Ukraine. However, specific plans for the deployment of foreign troops are still under discussion.
