In “five to eight years”
Pistorius warns of Russian attack on NATO
January 19, 2024, 9:31 a.m
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The Federal Minister of Defense wants Germany to take precautions against a possible expansion of the conflict with Russia. The Bundeswehr must become “war-ready”. To this end, he is targeting various reforms.
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has warned against an expansion of the war in Ukraine. “We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day – most recently against our friends in the Baltics,” the SPD politician told the “Tagesspiegel”. “So we have to take into account that one day Vladimir Putin will even attack a NATO country,” added Pistorius, who will be in office for a year this Friday. He currently doesn’t think a Russian attack is likely. “Our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible.”
With his warning or his demand that the Bundeswehr must become “war-ready,” he wanted to “wake up our society.” Precautions must now be taken for this. Pistorius had already discussed a modified conscription, for which he expects proposals from his ministry by April. The minister would also be open to opening the troops to soldiers without a German passport.
“We would not be the first armed forces in Europe to do this,” Pistorius said. There are people in the country who live in Germany in the second or third generation but do not yet have German citizenship. The arms industry also needs to be made more efficient.
Pistorius for debt brake reform
Pistorius also spoke out in favor of reforming the debt brake for security reasons. “With a debt brake in this form, we will not get through these crises unscathed,” he said. The existing money is no longer sufficient to ensure the country’s security, to deal with the consequences of the pandemic and at the same time to make investments in education and digitalization. With regard to the Bundeswehr, the Defense Minister emphasized: “We must quickly strengthen our defense capability given the urgency of the threat situation.”
At the same time, Pistorius rejected calls for more German military aid for Ukraine and pointed out the limits of support from the Bundeswehr. “We cannot go ‘all in’, as some are demanding. Otherwise we would be defenseless ourselves,” said the minister. “So far we have delivered everything that is possible,” he added. Of all the EU states, Germany is already doing the most; now it is up to the other European partners to do more. “It must be clear to everyone: If Putin wins this war and occupies Ukraine, the danger for the alliance area will of course also increase,” warned the SPD politician.