Boris Pistorius will lead efforts to modernise Germany’s military and steer coverage on the warfare in Ukraine.
Germany has appointed a new defence minister as pressure mounts on Berlin to allow European nations to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday named Boris Pistorius as the defence chief to replace scandal-hit Christine Lambrecht, who resigned a day earlier.
Pistorius, from Scholz’s governing Social Democrat Party (SPD), will leave his position as the interior minister of the state of Lower Saxony. He gained a national profile during the 2015 refugee crisis and is known for taking a hard line on security issues.
“Pistorius is an extremely experienced politician who is tried and tested in administration. [He] has handled safety coverage for years,” Scholz stated.
“Along with his competence, assertiveness and large coronary heart, he's precisely the appropriate particular person to steer the Bundeswehr [armed forces] by this turning level,” he stated in an announcement.
Pistorius’s appointment comes earlier than a gathering deliberate for Friday at america’s Rammstein airbase in southwestern Germany, the place Ukraine’s allies are anticipated to debate boosting navy help for Kyiv.
His predecessor Lambrecht was criticised for months for her perceived failure to modernise the German military rapidly sufficient, her stance on the Ukraine warfare and her public picture.
Till now, Germany has been cautious about approving the dispatch of heavy Leopard tanks over fears that such a transfer may escalate the warfare.
In an announcement seen by the Reuters information company, German economic system minister Robert Habeck stated, “There are vital selections to be made within the quick time period, specifically, the pressing query of how we proceed to help Ukraine in its proper to self-defence.”
“Germany bears a accountability right here and has main duties to perform.”
Whereas different European international locations have shares of the sought-after German tanks, they will solely be despatched to Kyiv after first being accredited by Berlin.
European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen instructed Al Jazeera, on the sidelines of the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, “I've stated for the reason that starting of the warfare, we should always give the Ukrainian armed forces the navy tools they want and that they will deal with. If these are superior applied sciences, I've the identical place nonetheless, and I feel there will probably be vital discussions in Rammstein on January 20, and I hope good selections will probably be taken.”
On Monday, the UK confirmed the primary supply of 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
In his speech to Parliament, British defence secretary Ben Wallace stated that Germany wouldn't be alone in the event that they despatched tanks to Kyiv.
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated the British tanks would “burn identical to the remaining”.
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