The Russian threat to NATO's eastern flank could increase if a ceasefire is introduced in Ukraine, believes Munich Security Conference Chairman Wolfgang Ischinger, quoted by DPA, BTA reports.
“As long as Ukraine defends Europe, the danger is not that great“, Ischinger said in an interview with “Tagesspiegel“. According to him, Russian armies are currently engaged in Ukrainian territories and Putin is losing thousands of soldiers every week.
According to the expert, however, the situation will change in the event of a ceasefire. "Then Putin will be able to continue his rearmament without any problems and the threat to NATO's eastern flank will increase," Ischinger warned, a week before the 62nd Munich Security Conference.
However, the German diplomat stressed that the main thing is to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine. "There is nothing more important for the people of Ukraine." But the Russian threat to us Germans will increase if the ceasefire is not accompanied by a significant reduction in the military potential in Russia's western military districts, he added.
Ischinger notes that this is unlikely and therefore "the ceasefire itself does not mean that we can relax."
According to him, the outcome of the war in Ukraine is key to the fate of Germany and the whole of Europe, since today Kiev is defending not only its territory, but also the security of the entire continent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend the upcoming conference.
Ukraine has been fighting for almost four years with Western support to repel the invading Russian troops, with the United States currently trying to negotiate an end to the fighting, DPA notes.