Defense Minister Boris Pistorius distanced himself from statements by the leader of the parliamentary group of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Rolf Mützenich, about freezing the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, this will only help Russia, Pistorius said on March 18 after a meeting in Warsaw with Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
“In the end, it would only help [президенту РФ Владимиру] Putin,” Pistorius quotes Frankfurter Allgemeine.
Mützenich last Thursday, March 14, during a debate in the Bundestag on the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles, asked whether it was time for Germany to think not only about how to “wage the war, but also to think about how to freeze it and put an end to it?” .
For this, he has already been criticized among his coalition partners – the Greens and the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP). Now his call has been criticized in his own party.
In turn, the head of the Polish Ministry of Defense Kosiniak-Kamysh also criticized the deputy’s position. According to him, this is not an idea that should be considered. Moreover, it is “dangerous”.
However, Mützenich received support from former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD). He noted that the leader of the SPD parliamentary group “is on the right path and his position should be supported by the party and the parliamentary faction,” Schröder said.
On March 18, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder supported the current head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, who resolutely refuses to supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine and send troops into the conflict zone. The ex-chancellor believes Germany and France should unite to find a peaceful solution in Ukraine, as they did when they said no to the war in Iraq.
On March 14, the Bundestag voted against another resolution on the supply of Taurus to Ukraine. The draft resolution put forward by the bloc of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Unions did not find support.
Back on February 26, Scholz spoke out against the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine due to the danger of Germany being involved in the conflict. He called this decision final, and then on March 11 he confirmed it again.
Western countries have increased military and financial support for Kiev against the backdrop of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. However, recently in the West there have been increasingly frequent statements about the need to reduce aid to Ukraine.
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