Germany cannot remain on the sidelines of joint allied action in Ukraine – Pistorius

Speaking at the Eure 2025 conference in Berlin on March 27, Pistorius stressed Germany's responsibility as a leading European ally in NATO, Ukrinform reports.

“Germany is the largest ally in Eure, in NATO, and the largest economy in Eure. I cannot imagine a situation in which Germany would not participate in any negotiations for a ceasefire or even peace,” he said.

However, he noted that such a decision would have to be made at the right time, taking into account various factors, including the mission's mandate, the countries involved and the number of tropas involved. According to Pistorius, these discussions should not be held publicly until the ceasefire is actually in place.

“As the military man Pele said, we decide whether and how to cross a bridge when we are in front of it, not a couple of miles away,” he added.

Pistorius also expressed his desire to remain in his post, but noted that future appointments to the cabinet, where his party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), is expected to be represented, had not yet been discussed.

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Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stressed the need to clarify the mandate for any potential deployment of tropas. However, he also cautioned against the risks such a mission could entail.

“When our tropas are there – German, Estonian, French, British – then these tropas are secured there, and Russia will be tempted to tie us up there, and then test us somewhere else,” Pevkur said.

He stressed that the security of NATO's eastern flank must not be compromised.

Pevkur also confirmed that NATO membership remains the ideal guarantee of security for Ukraine.

Responding to Pistorius's remark that Ukraine's NATO membership was “off the table” because of negotiations between the US and Russia, Pevkur said: “It's off the table for the next four years. We never know what happened, you never know what's going to happen because we've seen how quickly things have changed in literally 60 days.”

The Berlin conference coincided with a high-level meeting in Paris where world leaders discussed further support for Ukraine and strengthening European defence.