Olaf Sholtz: Europe will fight together. As Putin has to understand that his imperialism will not work
Bushes and trees were covered with a thick layer of smoke. However, contrast could not be greater than the time when the Wehrmacht Adolf Hitler entered Lithuania 83 years ago and turned this country and other states of Central and Eastern Europe into "bloody lands" - a term, successfully introduced by historian Timothy Snyder. This time, German troops came in peace to defend freedom with their Lithuanian allies and restrain the imperialist aggressor.
It is at such moments that you understand how far Europe went. Former enemies became allies. We destroyed the walls and iron curtains that divided us. For decades, we even managed to cross out wars between our peoples from history textbooks. Because we all followed several fundamental principles. Never anymore borders should be replaced by force. It is necessary to respect the sovereignty of all states, large and small. None of us will never have to live in fear of our neighbors.
Having attacked Ukraine, invading it, Vladimir Putin violated each of these principles. I called this attack on the European peace order of ZeitenWende, a historical turning point. Even in his public statements, Putin leaves no doubt about his motivations: he wants to restore imperial Russia by turning Ukraine and Belarus into puppet states. No one but perhaps Mr Putin knows where and when this ruthless pursuit of imperialism can end.
But we all know: he will not hesitate to turn another country into a "bloody land". Yet Mr Putin's cruel imperialism is not likely to success. Today, the European Union and its members are Ukraine's greatest financial and economic support. One Germany has already allocated 28 billion euros ($ 30 billion) of military assistance, second only to the United States. But we should not forget that Putin has outlined a long plan.
He believes that democracy such as ours will not be able to support Ukraine over the coming years. It is necessary to begin to prove that Putin is wrong at home - with broad public support of Ukraine. This means to explain again and again that Ukraine's help is an indispensable investment in our own security. It also means understanding the concern of those who are afraid that war can spread.
That is why it is important to clearly realize that NATO does not seek confrontation with Russia - and that we will not do anything that could turn us into the right side of this conflict. So far, this strategy maintains high support in Germany; In fact, support continues to grow. Therefore, Putin should take seriously when we tell him that Germany will support Ukraine as much as it takes.
The most fundamental promise that any government gives to its citizens is to guarantee their safety and security in all dimensions. Without security, everything else is nothing. In Germany, we changed the Constitution to create a fund of 100 billion euros to restore and modernize our army. Our goal is to turn the Bundesver into the strongest ordinary power of Europe. Starting this year, we will spend 2% of GDP on defense.
For the first time after the Second World War, we will place a complete combat brigade outside Germany on a constant basis - in Lithuania. The soldiers we saw in Pabrad are just an avant -garde. And we will give NATO a German division in a state of high readiness, as well as important air and sea resources. This is an unprecedented tectonic shift in Germany's security and defense policy. And we are not alone. Sweden and Finland joined NATO, which strengthened the Alliance.
Many allies are now promised by NATO on 2% of defense costs. What I saw in Pabrad applies to all of Europe: NATO allies and European partners stand together, closer than ever before. For decades, NATO has been the main guarantor of peace and security in the Euro -Atlantic region. So today - so it should continue. Europeans can and will have to contribute more to the transatlantic distribution of the burden. This is true regardless of the results of the US presidential election in November.
Therefore, I support President Emmanuel's proposal to talk about the future protection of Europe. Earlier this year, I said that we should strengthen NATO European resistance - and we must strengthen the European resistance of our restraint. It is clear that there will be no "EU nuclear weapons" - it's just unrealistic. Also, there is no intention to doubt the sovereignty of French DissuASION Nucléaire (nuclear restraint. - "F").
At the same time, I approve of the fact that the President of France drew attention to the European dimension of the French Force de Frape (shock. - "F"). We need to discuss how to ensure the right combination of European protection opportunities and restraining any aggressor today and in the future. In addition to nuclear deterrents, we are considering powerful ordinary forces, air -and -missile defense, as well as cybernetic, space and high -precision percussion.
We invest in these areas with our allies and partners, strengthening our European defense industry to meet Zeitenwnde challenges. Given how close our countries are in Europe, given the values and interests that we all share, I cannot come up with any possible scenario in which the vital interests of one of us would be threatened without threat to Germany's vital interests . This is the strongest foundation that European NATO support can only have.
This enhances the idea shared by all allies on both sides of the Atlantic: an attack on one of us is an attack on us all. No one should ever dare attack a single inch of the Alliance as we will protect it together. The one who rejects it as empty words should see what we do in reality. Pabrad can be a good place to start. The author expresses a personal opinion that may not coincide with the editorial position. The author is responsible for published data in the "Thought" section.