Germany vows to become ‘guarantor of European security’

BERLIN

Germany is taking steps to become “the guarantor of European security,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.

Scholz set out the main goals of Germany’s new security strategy in an op-ed piece he wrote for Foreign Affairs magazine.

He said Russia’s war on Ukraine has been a turning point for Europe, and has led to a big change in Germany’s security policy.

“Germans are intent on becoming the guarantor of European security that our allies expect us to be,” he said, adding that Germany will invest more in defense, assume more responsibility within NATO to address new threats.

“The crucial role for Germany at this moment is to step up as one of the main providers of security in Europe by investing in our military, strengthening the European defense industry, beefing up our military presence on NATO’s eastern flank, and training and equipping Ukraine’s armed forces,” he said.

Scholz accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of breaching international law and shattering a European and international peace architecture that had taken decades to build.

“Acting as an imperial power, Russia now seeks to redraw borders by force and to divide the world, once again, into blocs and spheres of influence,” he said.

“The world must not let Putin get his way; Russia’s revanchist imperialism must be stopped,” he added.

Scholz underlined that a peace agreement should respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and safeguard Kyiv’s ability to defend itself in the future.

“In coordination with our partners, Germany stands ready to reach arrangements to sustain Ukraine’s security as part of a potential postwar peace settlement,” he said.

“We will not, however, accept the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory, poorly disguised by sham referendums," Scholz said, referring to Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which were made part of Russian territory in September.