German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said his country could play an important role in providing a security guarantee to Ukraine, but the capacity to send troops to the country where the war is going on is "probably not".
Wadephul told Table Today Podcast on Monday, “We are the only European country in Lithuania that has deployed a war-ready brigade. It would probably be too much for us to do this and send troops to Ukraine," he said.
On the other hand, Wadephul added that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will examine the issue.
European leaders think that permanent security guarantees to Ukraine are the key to any peace agreement that may arise between Kiev and Moscow, and this issue has become one of the most important items on the agenda during the leaders' meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington.
'military and technical assistance' proposal from Berlin
“We are currently receiving signals from Washington that they are ready [to provide security guarantees] in this regard, and this issue needs to be resolved together with the Europeans, of course Germany should also play an important role in this matter,” Wadephul said in the interview, adding that Berlin can provide a variety of support, including military and technical assistance.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump's special representative Steve Witkoff said he supported “much more robust security guarantees and] EU membership” and proposed an “article 5-like” protection for Ukraine, referring to NATO's mutual Defence provisions.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was part of the team that went to Washington on Monday, has so far shown an uncertain stance on the possibility of Germany sending troops to Ukraine.
In an interview he gave immediately after his election in February, he implied that Germany could join if the USA sent troops.
The German army is still not enough.
On the other hand, despite a huge increase in military spending, Germany is having difficulties in recruiting and training war-ready soldiers into the army, and despite its significant efforts, the number of troops remains stable around 182,000.
In April, Germany officially launched the first permanent overseas troops sending since World War II. Berlin sent an armored brigade of 5,000 people to Lithuania to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO.
A German government spokesman said on Monday before the meetings in Washington, “The issue of security guarantees is an extremely complex issue and will require great coordination. We see specific details and concrete applications as part of a truly long and complex process," he said.