Germany‘s defence minister on Monday strongly dismissed as premature the remarks made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding plans to send European troops to Ukraine, stating that she did not have the mandate to discuss the issue.
Von der Leyen told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday that Europe is drawing up “pretty precise plans” for a multinational troop deployment to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees that will have the backing of U.S. capabilities.
“Those are things that you don’t discuss before you sit down at the negotiating table with many parties that have a say in the matter,” the minister, Boris Pistorius, told journalists during a visit to an ammunition factory in Cologne on Monday.
“I would know better than to comment or confirm such considerations in any way, apart from the fact that the European Union has no mandate or competency whatsoever when it comes to positioning troops,” he added.
European Troops
Leyen told the FT that the deployment is set to include potentially tens of thousands of European-led troops, backed by assistance from the U.S., including command and control systems and intelligence and surveillance assets.
“President Trump reassured us that there will be (an) American presence as part of the backstop,” von der Leyen told the FT, adding that “That was very clear and repeatedly affirmed.”
The deployment is set to include potentially tens of thousands of European-led troops, backed by assistance from the U.S., including control and command systems and intelligence and surveillance assets, the report said, adding that this arrangement was agreed at a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and senior European leaders last month.
European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and von der Leyen, are expected to gather in Paris on Thursday, at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, to continue the high-level discussions on Ukraine, the FT reported, citing three diplomats briefed on the plans.
(With inputs from Reuters)
