The favorite to be the next German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said that Europe cannot rely on US President Donald Trump to keep its commitments to collective defense in NATO and must become more capable of defending itself, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
“We must be prepared for the possibility that Donald Trump will no longer unconditionally keep the promise of mutual assistance enshrined in the NATO treaty“, Merz, leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told public broadcaster ZDF.
“I therefore believe that it is extremely important that Europeans make serious efforts to be able to defend themselves at least the European continent“, he added.
Merz stressed that Germany should also consider very seriously whether to join the nuclear umbrella of the other two nuclear powers in NATO - the United Kingdom and France.
Nuclear defense agreements with these countries would raise “a whole series of very complex questions“, including who would have the final say on the use of such weapons, Merz said.
He acknowledged that France had made similar proposals before, but they had gone unanswered.
“The fact is that we need to have talks with the British and the French - the two European nuclear powers - on the question of whether sharing nuclear weapons or at least nuclear security by Britain and France could be beneficial for us too,“ he said.
Also today, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said that in her opinion, European allies should put more pressure on the government of US President Donald Trump so as not to lose Washington as a partner, including in negotiations over the war in Ukraine, DPA noted.
“We are increasing the pressure on the Americans“ to show “that they have something to lose if they stop standing shoulder to shoulder with the liberal democracies of Europe“, Berbock said during an election campaign event in Potsdam, not far from Berlin.
She recalled that three years ago, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the German government declared a “turning point“ – an expression used in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's widely quoted speech in which he promised more defense spending.
“Now we need a second turning point“, said Berbock. “No more trembling and hesitation for our peace.“
The Green Party representative warned that Ukraine could be forced to make painful concessions in a possible ceasefire agreement with Russia.
“A sham peace – that is, a peace that is not real peace, but blackmail or capitulation, is not peace, but the opposite: preparation for even greater war and violence“, she stressed.
“That is why I will support Ukraine as long as it needs it – because this is also our peace“, added Berbock.
“No one can decide about war and peace behind the backs of the Ukrainians or us, the Europeans – and this is the clear German position“, concluded the Foreign Minister.