On Tuesday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius moderated expectations regarding the possible role of European forces that would supervise the eventual peace in Ukraine. According to Pistorius, a lot will depend on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow rejects any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine. TASR informs about it according to the report of the DPA agency.
- The German Minister of Defense moderated expectations regarding peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.
- Pistorius emphasizes the dependence of the situation on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- Russia rejects any presence of foreign troops on Ukrainian territory.
- European leaders are proposing a multinational security force in cooperation with the US.
- Discussions about peacekeeping forces continue, Germany approaches the topic cautiously.
The creation of multinational forces under the leadership of Europe and with the support of the US, which would supervise the observance of a possible peace agreement, is one of the robust security guarantees for Ukraine mentioned in the joint statement of the European leaders, which was published on Monday evening on the occasion of their meeting with the American and Ukrainian delegations in Berlin.
“When Putin says how he wants to proceed, we’ll see what that actually means,” answered Pistorius when asked what contribution the German armed forces could provide. According to him, Germany is ready to provide any support that Russia wishes.
Russia categorically rejects the deployment of foreign troops to monitor the ceasefire in Ukraine. In an interview with ABC News on Monday Deputy Head of Russian Diplomacy Sergey Ryabkov reiterated that Moscow will not agree to an agreement that would include the presence of NATO forces on Ukrainian territory. even if they were there as part of the security safeguards.
Pistorius said that generally supports the idea of sending European soldiers to Ukraine, but he noted that he did not participate in the negotiations in Berlin, which, according to him, were held in a closed circle of people for good reasons. “At this stage, it is about Europeans – quite naturally – committing themselves to shared responsibility and engaging in further developments in the negotiations,” said the Minister of Defense.
Discussions about an international force to help protect Ukraine have been ongoing for some time. The United States has ruled out direct involvement, although President Donald Trump has said in the past that Washington would be ready to support European allies, including from the air. France and Britain as leading countries in the so-called the coalition of the willing has been promoting concrete preparations for multinational peacekeeping units for a long time, while Germany takes a more cautious stance, DPA wrote.
