SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Germany could send troops to future Ukraine buffer zone: minister
Berlin, Jan 18 (AFP) Jan 18, 2025
Germany's defence minister said he was open to sending German soldiers to Ukraine to help secure a demilitarised zone there if a ceasefire were agreed with Russia, in remarks published Saturday.

In an interview with the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Boris Pistorius also said Germany should aim to spend around three percent of GDP on defence.

US President-elect Donald Trump wants members of the NATO military alliance to devote five percent of their national output on defence, a demand that has already been rejected as too high by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Asked about a possible deployment of German troops to help secure a buffer zone between Russia and Ukraine if one were agreed, Pistorius said: "We're the largest NATO partner in Europe. We'll obviously have a role to play."

He said the issue would "be discussed in due time".

Trump, who takes office on Monday, said during his election campaign he could end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in fewer than 24 hours. His camp has since indicated that he needs more time.

Discussions could nevertheless start soon, notably with a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But Ukraine is not currently in a position of sufficient strength to start any peace negotiations with Russia, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte said on Monday.

Pistorius said Russia was currently occupying "18 or 19 percent of Ukrainian territory". But despite nearly three years of war, it had "not gained more" than that and had suffered "extensive losses in its own army" in the attempt.

The United States claimed recently that Moscow had lost nearly 1,500 men a day in November.

Asked about the contribution Germany should make towards NATO defence spending, Pistorius said: "We should be talking more about three percent than two."

Germany currently devotes around two percent of its GDP to defence.

On January 9, Chancellor Olaf Scholz rebuffed Trump's demand for NATO members to raise defence spending to five percent of GDP.

For Germany, that would mean finding an additional 150 billion euros every year, he said.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
UK opens competitive bid for GBP 75 million orbital cleanup mission
UK invests $191 mn in European satellite firm Eutelsat
Bearings Used in Space Technologies: Engineering for the Final Frontier

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Atomic 6 receives 2M Space Force award to advance next generation solar arrays
ESA and Neuraspace develop autonomous satellite navigation technologies
Planet secures 240 million euro satellite services contract with German government

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
London, Paris tighten nuclear bond over US, Russia concerns
Iran says cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog will take 'new form'
Six killed in massive Russian drone, missile attack across Ukraine

24/7 News Coverage
Ancient zircon data reveals tectonic origin of Earth's first continental crust
Autonomous sub explores unexplored trench depths to reveal critical mineral clues
Europe launches first geostationary atmospheric sounder to boost extreme weather forecasts



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.