On September 1 local time, German Defense Minister Pistorius refuted European Commission President Von der Leyen's statement that he planned to send European troops to Ukraine.Pistorius said on the same day that Von der Leyen lacked the authority to discuss the issue.
In an interview published in the Financial Times on August 31, von der Leyen said Europe was developing "fairly precise plans" to deploy a multinational force to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security and would be supported by the United States. The deployment could include tens of thousands of European-led troops, including command and control systems as well as intelligence and surveillance.
In response, German Defense Minister Pistorius said on September 1,"These matters will not be discussed until we sit down and negotiate with many parties." He said: "I will not comment or confirm such considerations in any way, not to mention that the EU has no authorization for the deployment of troops."
The German government has so far remained largely silent in discussions about sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to maintain a potential ceasefire. Germany's ruling coalition said such discussions were "premature." (General reporter He Junqiang)