German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrives in Washington today, where he will discuss further support for Ukraine as well as military cooperation within NATO with his American counterpart Pete Hegseth, DPA reported, BTA reports.
This is Pistorius' first visit to the United States since President Donald Trump took office in January. The main focus of the talks is expected to be the delivery of additional air defense systems to Ukraine.
During the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine held last Thursday in Rome, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz officially announced that Germany is ready to purchase Patriot air defense systems from the United States with the aim of providing them to Ukraine. According to available information, the offer includes two systems, one of which will be financed by Norway.
Ukraine has stated that it needs a total of 10 Patriot systems to effectively strengthen its air defense.
During the talks between Pistorius and Hegseth, the issue of the presence of about 38,000 American soldiers stationed in Germany may also be discussed. During his first term, Trump insisted on a serious reduction of this contingent, but according to DPA sources, he abandoned this intention during his meeting with Chancellor Merz in early June. Trump then assured Merz that if Germany wanted US forces to stay, he had no objections, saying: “That's not a problem.“
However, it remains unclear whether Trump will stick to his predecessor Joe Biden's commitment to deploy US intermediate-range missiles in Germany next year.
The agenda for the meetings in Washington is also expected to include Germany's massive arms project. The German air force has ordered 35 F-35 fighter jets from the US company Lockheed Martin, worth 10 billion euros (about $11.7 billion). Deliveries are due to begin next year. The planes are intended to play a role in NATO's nuclear deterrent, as they can carry US nuclear weapons stored on German territory.