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Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense
»Good morning, Minister Pistorius, thank you for welcoming me today. I'm your first visitor since you've only been in office for an hour. That's not surprising!'
Cold start for Boris Pistorius: Barely in office, the new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius meets Pentagon boss Lloyd Austin in Berlin.
The talks focus on further arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Boris Pistorius, German Defense Minister
“German systems are proving themselves in the Ukraine. Self-propelled howitzers, Gepard, state-of-the-art anti-aircraft system IRIS-T SLM. And together, I can say that we will continue to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom and territorial independence and sovereignty together with our partners in the future. I look forward to an excellent working relationship, Mr. Secretary, dear Lloyd. We'll see each other again in Ramstein tomorrow, then with you as our host."
The question of whether Germany, together with other NATO countries, will also supply Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine remains open for the time being.
However, one thing was clear on the day he took office: the Ukraine war and Germany's role will have a decisive impact on Pistorius' term in office.
After being sworn in in the Bundestag, he was received with military honors by the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, General Eberhard Zorn, in the Bendler Block.
The new minister denounced the deplorable state of the Bundeswehr due to decades of savings - and promised improvement:
Boris Pistorius, German Defense Minister
»The importance of higher security is different than it was a year ago. That is why it is now a matter of making the Bundeswehr strong now and quickly. It's about deterrence, effectiveness and operational readiness. And all of this is now primarily about continuing to support the Ukraine, also with material from the Bundeswehr. «
In an interview with the Reuters news agency, the head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, spoke about the challenges facing the new minister and expectations at tomorrow's Ukraine summit in Ramstein.
Christoph Heusgen, head of the Munich Security Conference
“The Americans asked Germany themselves. The American ambassador here in Berlin said: Yes, Washington would be happy if Germany did more. Well, we mustn't do that, also considering the fact that we - representatives of the governments, Federal President - have always said that Germany wants to take leadership and responsibility, we can't hide behind the Americans now, we have to.. ., leadership is required. And the Americans actually asked us to do it.«
In the appointment marathon, Pistorius will continue to Estonia later in the day.
The ministerial meeting in the Estonian city of Tapa is intended to prepare for the upcoming donor conference in Ramstein on Friday.
The Western Allies' pressure to make decisions on Germany can be clearly felt.