German Defence Minister to Visit US for Ukraine Support Talks
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will discuss support for Ukraine during his visit to the United States next week, German Defence Ministry spokesman Mitko Müller said at a briefing on Monday.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to Ukrinform.
‘The minister will be in Washington in about a week and will exchange views with his counterpart,’ the spokesman said.
According to him, the main topic of discussion will be long-term support for Ukraine in the field of air defence, in particular air defence systems and ammunition for them.
This is what Ukraine needs, Müller said, adding that it also needs long-range weapons, which is why Germany wants to invest in their production directly in Ukraine, because there are capacities there that German partners want to use, Müller said.
Support for Ukraine is a long-term process, the German side is in constant communication with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the relevant cooperation is coordinated by a special headquarters for Ukraine, which has existed in the German Ministry of Defence for three years, the representative of the Ministry of Defence emphasised.
German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Katrin Deschauer added that Berlin is in constant dialogue with its partners, including the United States.
"We are united by a common goal: this terrible war that Putin started three years ago must end, and Ukraine must approach the negotiations from a position of strength. And that includes our continued support. We, as the German government, are doing everything we can and are committed to supporting Ukraine in various ways. This, of course, includes continued and strong support, particularly in terms of security and policy. This is a fundamental position that is also backed up by action," she said.
According to the spokeswoman, support for Ukraine in political, economic, humanitarian and security policy terms is extremely important for Berlin, as confirmed by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's visit to Ukraine last week. She called the participation of a number of representatives of defence companies in this visit to Kyiv ‘impressive proof of this.’
As The Gaze reported earlier, the United States has halted shipments of certain air defence missiles and precision-guided munitions to Ukraine due to growing concerns about the depletion of its own weapons stockpiles.
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine stated that it had not received any official notifications about the suspension or revision of defence aid delivery schedules from the United States and requested a telephone conversation with its US counterparts.