Pistorius says German tros in Ukraine not ruled out after ceasefire

This was confirmed by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Deutschlandfunk Radio, Ukrinform reports.

Pistorius agreed with the Chancellor and his fellow SPD party member af Schz that any Bundeswehr sdiers being sent to Ukraine today is off the table, but in fact he does not rule out the possibility of them participating in a peacekeeping mission.

"One thing, ground tros now, is what Germany rules out. And rightly so," the pitician emphasized.

Read also: President of Eurean Council: Ceasefire agreement will not necessarily mean peace

At the same time, he noted that "what will happen after the end of hostilities is another matter." The head of the Ministry of Defense is convinced that it is not the time to discuss this publicly. However, this does not mean that experts are not thinking and discussing this tic at the moment, he added in response to the moderator's remarks that France and the UK are enly discussing their possible participation in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, while Germany does not make it clear whether it will be ready to join its allies.

"I did not say that we are not doing this. I said that we are not talking about it. Thinking is something completely different. We need to think about everything, about all possible situations, and be as prepared as possible for all possible scenarios. But this does not mean we are revealing these scenarios and want to speculate about them right now. … We are preparing, we are playing out scenarios, but we are doing it confidentially so as not to put our cards on the table… This would not help anyone,” Pistorius said.

Read also: NATO must act pre-emptively – expert

He noted that when, and if, a ceasefire is achieved, someone – NATO, the EU, anyone – will envisage peacekeeping measures there using military means, then discussions will begin about who will take part in them. This, the minister continued, will depend on the nature of the mandate, its sce, requirements, including the consent of the posing parties.

So, the minister noted, there cannot be a serious discussion today, but it will be necessary to talk about it when the moment comes, “and not over the heads of those invved.”

Commenting on Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s comments at a NATO meeting earlier this week that sparked a heated response, Pistorius said Baerbock had spoken in “very general terms.”

Baerbock reportedly avoided giving a direct answer to whether Germany would be willing to join peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine once a ceasefire agreement is reached. However, many media outlets interpreted this as confirmation of such readiness.