“The Bundeswehr has already stationed a brigade in Lithuania. Additional deployment of German soldiers in Ukraine would likely be too great a burden for us,” the minister said. However, he emphasized that Germany should play a significant role in potentially ensuring peace in Ukraine.
“Ukraine needs security guarantees. The U.S. has made it clear they are ready to provide them. Now we need to see what can be achieved together with the Europeans,” Wadephul said.
Regarding possible negotiations for a peaceful resolution in Ukraine, the German diplomat expressed “cautious optimism.”
He assessed that “there is a chance for serious discussions about ending hostilities and then achieving peace.” It is with these expectations that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is traveling to Washington on Aug.18 alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Wadephul noted that Merz would not have made the trip if he did not believe there was a possibility of reaching a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine.
In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that ensuring peace in Ukraine would require 100,000 peacekeepers and that, on his orders, the military had developed a map outlining the actual need for foreign troops to secure peace in the country.
Also in February, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that he was “ready and willing” to send British troops to Ukraine to ensure the implementation of any peace agreement.