Germany does not rule out deploying troops to Ukraine to ensure a ceasefire, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said during a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on Dec. 3.
Baerbock told journalists that in order to achieve long term peace in Ukraine, security guarantees such as Ukraine’s NATO membership and deployment of international troops, including German ones, are conceivable.
The comments follow media reports about the U.K. and France also discussing sending its soldiers to monitor a ceasefire in Ukraine. European troops overseeing a peaceful post-war situation in the country were reportedly included in a peace plan of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's team.
Baerbock, a member of Germany’s Green party, has represented a more pro-Ukrainian voice in the governing coalition with Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who adopted a more cautious approach on certain issues. Earlier this year, the chancellor rejected a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron to send military trainers to Ukraine.
Scholz also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 15 for the first time in nearly two years. The German chancellor condemned Russia's war in Ukraine, urged Putin to withdraw his troops, and discussed potential talks with Kyiv.
The chancellor remained adamant about not transferring Taurus missiles to Ukraine even after the U.S. reversed course and allowed Ukraine to strike Russia’s Kursk region with ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles.
Germany is heading toward snap elections in February, with polls favoring the conservative CDU/CSU alliance, whose chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz adopted a tougher rhetoric toward Russia and called for more decisive steps in support of Kyiv.
Olena Goncharova
(Updated: )
