German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over publicly announced plans to send multinational troops to Ukraine as part of long-term security guarantees. He was visiting a defense industry facility in the western German city of Troisdorf, Politico reported.
The minister's criticism was prompted by von der Leyen's interview with the Financial Times over the weekend, in which she said that Europe is drawing up "pretty precise plans" for a multinational deployment in Ukraine as part of post-war security guarantees. She explained that the plans could include tens of thousands of soldiers from European countries, with US support in areas such as intelligence and command.
According to Pistorius, it is "fundamentally wrong" to discuss such options before peace talks. He stressed that the EU "has no responsibilities and no competences when it comes to deploying troops - for anyone or anything" and added that he would refrain from confirming or commenting on such plans.
However, Boris Pistorius acknowledged that European governments were considering "under what conditions and reservations" what would be possible, but stressed that "to discuss this publicly at this time, I think is completely wrong".