New German Defense Minister Intends To Prepare Bundeswehr For Situation Related To Ukraine

Boris Pistorius, who will replace Christine Lambrecht as the German defense minister, said that he must prepare the Bundeswehr for the new situation that has arisen in connection with the conflict in Ukraine

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2023) Boris Pistorius, who will replace Christine Lambrecht as the German defense minister, said that he must prepare the Bundeswehr for the new situation that has arisen in connection with the conflict in Ukraine.

"The tasks the troops are facing are enormous. Therefore, I will begin my official duties immediately after taking the oath on Thursday and exchange views with the ministry, the Bundeswehr, the leadership and, of course, the parliamentarians," Pistorius told reporters.

He added that he "must prepare the Bundeswehr for the new situation" that has arisen in connection with the conflict in Ukraine.

"It's important for me to involve the soldiers closely in this process," Pistorius explained, adding that his country's soldiers can count on his support when they need it.

The future minister added that close and trusting cooperation with the people who will be entrusted to him in this post was also very important for him.

Earlier in the day, it was announced that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz would appoint 62-year-old Pistorius, who has held the post of head of the interior ministry in the Federal state of Lower Saxony since 2013, as the new German defense minister.

The new minister will receive a certificate of appointment from the German president and will take oath in the German Bundestag next Thursday.

According to German newspaper Welt, Pistorius called for a review of EU sanctions against Russia in 2018, as they damaged the economy of his country and strengthened the Russian position. Pistorius was also a member of the German-Russian Friendship Group, created in cooperation with the Russian Federation Council. According to the Lower Saxon media, he studied Russian. In 2022, he strongly criticized the Russian special operation in Ukraine.

On Monday, Lambrecht announced that she had asked Scholz to be removed from her post, she explained her decision by the attention of the German media to her own person. Her departure comes against the background of preparations for a meeting of NATO countries at the US airbase Ramstein in Germany, scheduled for January 20, and against the background of active discussions around the possible supply of German tanks Leopard 2 to Ukraine, from which the German side has so far refrained.