live blog
Status: 04/01/2023 07:31 a.m
According to Defense Minister Pistorius, the gaps in the supply of the Bundeswehr cannot be closed quickly. Several SPD politicians have called on Chancellor Scholz to launch a peace initiative in Ukraine. All developments in the live blog.
7:20 a.m
Pistorius: Gaps in the Bundeswehr will not be completely closed by 2030
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius does not expect the equipment gaps in the Bundeswehr to be closed anytime soon. “We all know that the existing gaps cannot be completely closed by 2030. That’s why we have to set priorities,” said the SPD politician to the “Welt am Sonntag”. One of those priorities was protecting NATO’s eastern flank. “For us, that means first of all building a fully equipped division by 2025 and making an appropriate contribution to the NATO response force.”
“The Bundeswehr has three tasks to fulfill: national and alliance defense as well as international crisis operations. This requires skills, backed by material and personnel,” explained Pistorius, referring to the high demand of the Bundeswehr. Weapons deliveries to Ukraine to support the war against Russia have also torn gaps in the Bundeswehr. At the end of January, Pistorius announced that he would be holding talks with the armaments industry.
7:13 a.m
SPD politicians call on Scholz to support the Ukraine peace initiative
The former head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) Reiner Hoffmann and other SPD politicians called for a peace initiative for Ukraine in a call published by the “Frankfurter Rundschau”. They encourage Chancellor Olaf Scholz “to get Brazil, China, India and Indonesia in particular to mediate together with France in order to quickly achieve a ceasefire,” said the historian Peter Brandt, son of former Chancellor Willy Brandt , initiated.
The authors of the appeal were ex-DGB boss and SPD member Hoffmann, former SPD MP Michael Müller and Reiner Braun from the International Peace Office. Among the signatories were the former Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse and ex-EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen (both SPD).