EU Representative Borrell and French Defense Minister Parly emphasized that the idea of a European army should be developed.German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said that she believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is uncomfortable with European and North American countries standing shoulder to shoulder against a possible Russian invasion.
Lambrecht, who attended the session titled “European Foreign and Security Policy and the Power of Language” held within the scope of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Sunday, said: “We did not give Putin an opportunity to divide us by standing shoulder to shoulder.”
“GUN AID IS NOT THE ONLY WAY”
Lambrecht also defended the federal government’s decision not to send weapons to Ukraine, which faces the threat of invasion by Russia. Reminding that Germany has been following a “restrictive arms export policy” for many years, Lambrecht emphasized that this policy was not only adopted by the new government, but also by previous governments. Minister Lambrecht said, “This is a political attitude that we have adopted for a long time, and this attitude is related to our history and past. And I think this is the right approach. German society also shares this view. 80 percent of the society supports this policy.”
Lambrecht stated that Germany has supported Ukraine since 2014 and said that Berlin continues to be a reliable partner of Kiev. Underlining that Ukraine can be supported in different ways, the Minister said, “As all allies, we do not have to give the same performance.”
Lambrecht, who recently took over the post of Defense Minister, also stated that Germany fulfilled all its obligations to NATO. “Most of our military spending goes to the alliance and we have no intention of changing this situation,” Lambrecht said.
BORRELL: WE MUST RESIST RUSSIA AND CHINA
The European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Relations and Security Policy Josep Borrell and French Defense Minister Florence Parly also attended the session held on the last day of the conference in Munich.
Commenting on the Ukraine-Russia tension, Borrell said, “We must both increase our support for Ukraine in the short term and lay the foundations of a stronger defense policy. We must do these at the same time.” Borrell said, “Europe is in danger. We are in danger.”
Stating that Russia and China follow an “openly revisionist manifesto” in international relations, Borrell said, “We have to resist this revisionism.” Accusing Russia and China of “returning to the 19th century and trying to bring back the empires they claimed to be in the past”, Borrell stated that the two countries unanimously question the existing rules of the international order. Underlining that both countries actually have “more than 1000 years of experience in democracy”, Borrell criticized the current Beijing and Moscow administrations and said, “Russia and China are trying to make the concept of personal rights relative.”
“EUROPEAN ARMY MUST DEVELOP”
France’s Defense Minister Florence Parly, who has argued that efforts should be made to make Europe more independent and stronger in the field of security policy in recent years, said, “We need a stronger Europe.”
Reminding that the idea that Europe should be stronger in the field of security and defense is only a five-year-old idea, the Minister evaluated the increase in defense budgets in European countries as a positive development.
Drawing attention to the lack of capability of Europe in developing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Parly said that the European arms industry should be developed. Parly underlined that the recently published “Strategic Compass” document, which aims to develop a common European attitude on issues concerning security and defense policy, is the right path to follow.
On the other hand, Borrell, on the subject of the Strategic Compass, said that “Europeans should be stronger and more united” and emphasized that the idea of a European army should be developed and that it is not an alternative to NATO, but a component that will strengthen NATO.
This year, Russia did not send a representative to the conference that it attended in previous years. Despite the absence of a Russian delegation, discussions about Russia dominated the conference this year. This year’s organization is the first conference to be held on site since the beginning of the pandemic. At the same time, this year’s conference marks the end of Wolfgang Ischinger, who has chaired the Munich Security Conference since 2008. Ischinger will hand over his post to veteran German diplomat Christoph Heusgen next year.
Burak Unveren
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