“There is no alternative”: German CDU politician supports sending peacekeepers to Ukraine

Security spokesman for Germany’s main opposition CDU party, Roderich Kiesewetter, believes that Germany, as the country with the largest economy in the EU, should take part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if it is formed after the Russian war is over.

In Germany, CDU member of the Bundestag Roderich Kiesewetter spoke in favor of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine. According to the German politician, there is no other alternative. Kiesewetter said this to the Schwäbische newspaper on Friday, January 3.

Germany should be ready to make a significant contribution to peace – Kiesewetter

“As the strongest economic country in Europe, Germany should be ready to make a significant contribution to peace and the European security architecture,” the German politician said.

Kiesewetter believes that Germany is obliged to get involved in Ukraine in time “with well-equipped troops,” and it would be negligent to exclude it. The politician noted that Germany’s participation should take place within the framework of the EU and NATO.

“A peacekeeping force is effective and, given our limited material and human resources in Europe, realistic when the peacekeeping force can be attributed to the European and transatlantic security architecture and therefore to NATO, since the nuclear shield also applies to Ukraine,” Kiesewetter added.

On January 2, a new survey revealed that the majority of Germans (56%) support the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine, DW reported. However, only 23% of respondents support the participation of the German military in such a mission. At the same time, 33% of Germans are against the involvement of their country’s troops.

Potential EU peacekeepers mission in Ukraine

In December, meetings in Brussels discussed the idea of deploying a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine as a deterrent against another Russian attack, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that he was already “seeing positive responses” from some leaders.

After a conference in support of Ukraine held in Paris on February 26, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron said that sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future should not be ruled out.

In response to Macron’s statements, a number of NATO countries publicly rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine. Among them are Poland, the United States, Germany, the Czech Republic, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Discussions about sending troops resumed in November of the same year after Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

On December 3, Radio Liberty reported, citing a senior NATO official who wished to remain anonymous, that France and the United Kingdom were discussing possible options for ensuring Ukraine’s security in the event of peace talks with Russia. One of these options is the deployment of troops from both countries on the contact line to monitor compliance with the ceasefire.

On December 12, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, said that the decision to send Polish troops to Ukraine would be made exclusively by the Polish government, but that there are no such plans yet.

On December 18, Reuters reports, citing officials and diplomats, that EU countries may send up to 100,000 troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping mission in the event of a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.

On December 21, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius responded positively to discussions about sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, emphasizing that this is possible only after the war is over.