All news

Bundestag believes German army has opportunity to ensure peace in Ukraine

head of the Bundestag defense committee Thomas Rowekamp said that the German army "has capabilities that it can use, including in Ukraine"

BERLIN, December 26. /TASS/. The Bundeswehr could be used to ensure peace in Ukraine, head of the Bundestag defense committee Thomas Rowekamp said.

"It is obvious that Europe, and this is why Germany, needs significant capacity building to meet NATO requirements. Nevertheless, the Bundeswehr already has the capabilities that we could use to maintain peace in Ukraine. This can be, for example, patrolling airspace, training or logistical support," Rowekamp said in an interview with Die Welt newspaper.

He said that the German army "has capabilities that it can use, including in Ukraine." Security guarantees, according to the head of the Bundestag committee, "do not imply permanent deployment of several thousand military personnel, as in Lithuania." Rather it is about ensuring the peace process.

On December 24, Vladimir Zelensky told reporters about a 20-point plan that Ukraine allegedly discussed at talks in the United States. The plan includes confirmation of Ukraine's sovereignty, a non-aggression agreement between Russia and Ukraine with monitoring along the line of contact (without details), and security guarantees (also without details). Under this plan, the Ukrainian army numbers are fixed at 800,000 people in peacetime.

Russia considers the principle of collective guarantees relevant for Ukraine, but rejects security guarantees for Kiev in the logic of confrontation with Moscow. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier, security guarantees around the Ukrainian settlement should be resolved "by consensus, taking into account the basic interests of Russia.".