Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul
has given the negotiations for a ceasefire in the
Ukraine the importance of serious security guarantees from the West and, above all, the USA emphasized. “This of course means a commitment and a real willingness on the part of those who made the promise to stand on Ukraine’s side if it were attacked by Russia again,” said the CDU politician to the dpa news agency in Berlin.
The Ukraine can only be prepared to make concessions – including with regard to possible cessions of territory – if this is accompanied by reliable security commitments from the West, first and foremost from the USA, said Wadephul. At the same time, Europeans would also have to make contributions. “We will talk about this in more detail when we have a ceasefire and when we seriously see that Russia is prepared to seriously think about peace.”
Russia be prepared to negotiate. But that was different from a genuine willingness to make peace, criticized the Foreign Minister. “We haven’t seen them yet.”
Security “only from a position of strength”
Wadephul warns against feeling safe if efforts to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine are successful. “Our analysis is and will remain for the foreseeable future that we only get security in Europe as security from Russia,” he said. Security can only be achieved “from a position of strength, unity in the alliance and a Bundeswehr capable of defending itself”.
He did not want to speculate about how great the danger was that Vladimir Putin would use a ceasefire to put himself in a position to attack NATO territory even more quickly. “I can only advise us that we prepare for the fact that this possibility exists,” Wadephul added. This is done by establishing security structures in the North Atlantic alliance NATO and the personnel and material restructuring of the Bundeswehr to an army that is once again fully capable of national and alliance defense.
“The more stable Ukraine is, the better for Europe”
“There is no reason for us to reduce our efforts. Quite the opposite,” said the Foreign Minister. If the Russian army were to have lasting military success in Ukraine, “that would pose a serious threat to NATO,” the minister warned. For this reason alone, it remains the case that supporting Ukraine is in its own security policy interests. “The more stable the peace situation is in Ukraine, the more Ukraine is able to protect its own interests, the better it is for all of Europe,” said Wadephul.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said in mid-November that Russia After restoring its armed forces, it would be able to launch an attack on a NATO member country in the east. “We always said this could be the case from 2029,” said Pistorius. Others think this is conceivable as early as 2028. There are currently ongoing negotiations between the chief negotiators of the USA, Ukraine and Russia about an end to the war in Ukraine. However, a ceasefire is not in sight.
