German chancellor rules out troops in Ukraine until peace deal

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that there can be no question of sending Western troops to Ukraine until a ceasefire is reached.

“Until that moment [the ceasefire], there will be no sending of troops to Ukraine,” he said in an interview with Sat.1.

According to him, even if a ceasefire is established, for Germany this would only be possible “with significant reservations,” as there are “many obstacles” on the way. He added that there are “no plans for a military mission in Ukraine in Germany in any case.”

At the same time, the Chancellor noted that issues of providing military assistance to Ukraine fall under the competence of the so-called coalition of the willing, not the European Commission (EC). “This is not within the competence of the European Union,” he emphasised.

By Vugar Khalilov