2026-02-08 19:40
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2026-02-08 19:40
The war in Ukraine binds the Russian army and gives Europe time. The cessation of hostilities will increase the threat to the countries on NATO's eastern flank, says German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, quoted by “Tagesspiegel”.
“The outcome of the war in Ukraine will be decisive for the fate of Germany and Europe,” Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, said on Saturday in an interview with the Tagesspiegel daily. “Putin's goal is to restore the situation before 1997, i.e. before Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO. Putin wants to kick the Americans out of Europe, which is an old Soviet plan,” explained the German diplomat.
As long as Ukraine defends Europe, the threat is not great, according to Ischinger, because Putin's army is tied up and losing thousands of soldiers every week. The moment there is a ceasefire, the situation will change. Then Putin will be able to continue rearmament without any problems. The threat to NATO's eastern flank will increase. Ukraine now gives us time to build credible deterrence, emphasized the German diplomat.
Ischinger said he has no hope that the U.S. government will return to active military support for Ukraine in the foreseeable future. “I don't see any signs of this,” he noted. In his opinion, this means that Europeans bear an even greater burden. “So far, we have not fully coped with this task. Look at the people in Kiev who have no protection against frost.
Ischinger admitted that the West wasted a lot of time by starting to expand arms production in the first months of the war. “We need a consolidated European defense market,” he emphasized. In his opinion, a strategic decision regarding such a market should be made by the EU together with Great Britain, Norway and Turkey.
The diplomat recalled that in the United States there are 30 heavy weapons systems, while in Europe there are as many as 180. “We do not need five models of fighter jets and seven models of tanks competing with each other,” he explained. If it turns out that 27 countries will not be able to make such a decision, a “pioneer group” must be created that will move forward in a smaller group. When asked about the composition of such a group, Ischinger said that it was difficult to imagine it without France and Poland. In his opinion, the Balts, Finland and Sweden, as well as the Benelux countries, would join it. Ischinger emphasized that Chancellor Friedrich Merz has a special role to play. He was given “the historic task of building a new and strong Europe that can defend itself.”
The beginning of this process should be the replacement of unanimity in the EU with majority decisions. Merz should persuade the partners to make a joint statement in which they will give up their veto on foreign policy. “It should be done sensitively, but it is doable,” he said.
Voluntary abandonment of the unanimity rule does not require the consent of all countries, which avoids changing treaties. “We cannot under any circumstances continue as before if we do not want to become part of the menu instead of sitting at the table,” he warned.
This year's Munich Security Conference starts next Friday. The participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected. (PAP)
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