BERLIN — German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, signaled willingness to help secure peace in Ukraine with boots on the ground — at least in theory.
“I can’t imagine any situation in which Germany would not be participating in whatever would be the result of negotiations of a ceasefire or even a peace,” said Pistorius at an event jointly organized by several media outlets on Thursday in Berlin.
“But it has to be decided when the time has come and it depends on so many parameters, like: How many troops will be anyway accepted in the ceasefire? What could be the mandate? Who is taking part in it? This is nothing we should discuss publicly on the market places before it’s even clear whether we will have a ceasefire or not,” he added.
Pistorius’ comments came as European leaders met in Paris on Thursday along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ceasefire talks and military support for Kyiv. The leaders were expected to discuss ways to make a Franco-British proposal to deploy a “reassurance force” to Ukraine “more operational and more concrete,” said an official from the French presidency.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy also said he would press partners to see “who was ready” to send soldiers to Ukraine.
Estonia’s Pevkur underscored the importance of clarifying the mandate under which troops would be deployed.
“When our troops are there — German troops, Estonian troops, French troops, British troops — then those troops are fixed there and there will be a temptation for Russia to bind us there and then to test us somewhere else,” said Pevkur. There are “so many things to discuss before we say, ‘Yes we are there,’ or ‘Yes, we will support Ukrainians in this way.’ But for sure we will be discussing that very seriously.”
The ideal security guarantee for Ukraine would be NATO membership, Pevkur added.
But in view of the ongoing talks between the U.S. and Russia, NATO membership, for now, appears to be unlikely, Pistorius said.
“President Trump took the membership of Ukraine in NATO off the table, without any pressure,” said Pistorius. “And therefore I’m afraid that the membership of Ukraine in NATO is off the table and I hope it will not remain there, but we’ll see about that.”
Both men argued a lasting peace for Ukraine is only possible if Kyiv and its European allies were to take part in peace negotiations.
Pistorius, however, appeared unconvinced Europeans would secure a seat at the table when it comes to the Trump administration’s talks, even as his French and British counterparts try to win such a role by showing a willingness to send peacekeeping troops in case of an eventual deal.
“Let’s see whether they are succesfull,” Pistorius said of the Franco-British approach. “I would hope so, but I don’t believe it for the moment. There is no signal visible or to hear about in Washington that they are willing to let us on the table. And I’m afraid that could remain like that.”
What remains unclear too, is whether Pistorius — one of Germany’s most popular politicians, according to surveys — will still be in charge in a couple of weeks. His center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) is currently in coalition talks with the conservative winners of the country’s February election, and it is yet to be decided whether he will keep his defense ministry post once the new government is established.
Pistorius, however, once again made clear he wants to stay on.
“I would love to continue my work because it’s not done yet,” he said.
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