On the evening after he was sworn in, the new Federal Defense Minister does not want to make any announcements about how he intends to strengthen the Bundeswehr. With a view to the debate about “Leopard” tank deliveries, Pistorius clearly stands for continuity – and for loyalty to the chancellor.
The new Federal Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, wants to advance the equipment of the Bundeswehr as quickly as possible, but without rushing into decisions. “I’ve been in office for twelve hours now,” said the former interior minister of Lower Saxony on Thursday evening in his first TV interview since he was sworn in to RTL. The first meeting of the Ukraine-supporting states in Ramstein is on Friday, and the Franco-German government consultations in Paris on Sunday. “And then it will be about these questions: What needs to be done better in procurement? How do the products have to be better selected – the devices, the weapons – better than has been done in the past?” Pistorius announced .
The 62-year-old social democrat curbed expectations of timely answers: “I don’t tend to take hasty decisions. We don’t have much time, but we have to use it to prepare the right decisions,” said Pistorius. He was offered the office by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday and took over on Thursday. Predecessor Christine Lambrecht voluntarily took her hat off after the Bundeswehr’s equipment offensive made no progress and Lambrecht had repeatedly given an unhappy picture to the public.
“Leopard” delivery only in “concerted approach”
On the very first day, Pistorius had talks with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The focus: the question of whether Germany will also supply “Leopard 2” main battle tanks to Ukraine in addition to the “Marder” infantry fighting vehicle. Allies and the coalition partners Greens and FDP are demanding this in equal measure. According to a report, however, Scholz makes the decision dependent on whether the USA also supplies its own battle tanks. “First of all, it’s not about the conditions under which this can happen,” said Pistorius, “but about the fact that the Federal Republic of Germany, together with other European and NATO partners, has massively supported Ukraine since the outbreak of war and will continue to do so .”
This support was always done “in coordination with each other, in unison and with a reasonable, concerted approach,” said Pistorius. “It was the last time the ‘Marder’ was like that and should there be deliveries of the ‘Leopard’, then it will be possible under these conditions,” said the lawyer Pistorius. The term security comes from contract law and means something like reservation.
“You have to wait and see if that rolls up,” said Pistorius on the “Leopard” question. “We are in talks, especially with our transatlantic partner, the United States. As we have done in all other cases before: It’s about not going it alone,” Pistorius told RTL.
Pistorius can’t dodge “Leopard” question
On the question of what the goal of German military aid for Ukraine is, Pistorius did not deviate from previous statements by his predecessor Lambrecht or the Federal Chancellor. “First of all, the goal is that we support Ukraine in protecting and defending its territorial sovereignty and integrity and repelling the Russian attack,” said Pistorius. “Russia must not win the war, that must be clear to everyone. And NATO, including the Federal Republic of Germany, will make every contribution that is necessary.”
On Friday, representatives of the 30 NATO countries and other countries that support Ukraine in its defense against Russia will meet at the Ramstein US military base in Germany. After Poland and Finland want to cede their “Leopard” tanks to Kyiv, the German government has to position itself: Does it allow other countries to export German tanks to the war zone?
This raises the question of whether Germany itself is prepared to hand over “Leopard 2” tanks. These would first have to come from Bundeswehr stocks. “In principle, the Bundeswehr needs its own tanks. But they are needed much more urgently in Ukraine. That’s why we should now take some out of the Bundeswehr’s inventory and start procurement immediately,” said Green politician Anton Hofreiter in an interview with ntv. en. Scholz is also criticized as a brakeman in allied countries. The fact that Pistorius is to make a decision on this important issue on his first real day at work indicates how decisive the actual decision is made in the Chancellery.