Should Ukraine get German Leopard tanks? The SPD parliamentary group wants to set different accents in their exam. The word Panzer does not appear in the draft position paper. The focus: diplomacy.
The SPD in the Bundestag relies on diplomatic initiatives to reach a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. “Because we know that wars are not usually ended on the battlefield,” says a draft for a position paper by the largest government faction, which is to be decided at the annual meeting beginning today.
“Even if, for understandable reasons, there is no longer any trust in the current Russian leadership, diplomatic talks must remain possible.” That’s why Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin are right and necessary.
At the beginning of the two-day deliberations, faction leader Rolf Mützenich also acknowledged continued military support for Ukraine – and did not fundamentally rule out the delivery of battle tanks. “There are no red lines,” said Mützenich on the tank debate. There will be close coordination with the alliance partners. Ukraine must get what is important for the right to self-defense. At the same time, Germany must not be involved in the war.
Lambrecht on main battle tanks: “This decision has not been made”
On Wednesday, Poland agreed to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine together with its allies. So far, Germany has only promised Ukraine the lighter and less powerful Marder-type armored personnel carriers. During a visit to the troops in Marienberg, Saxony, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) confirmed that the delivery of main battle tanks is not currently on the agenda. “This decision has not been made. And that’s why this question doesn’t arise beyond that.”
No place for tanks in the SPD position paper
The word tank does not appear once in the draft for the SPD position paper. It is only pointed out that Germany has already supplied Ukraine with equipment and weapons “on a large scale”. Instead, there is a lengthy passage on diplomatic efforts to end the war.
“We must continue to make every attempt to persuade Russia to withdraw and to demand an honest willingness to conclude a just peace agreement with Russia,” the nine-page draft reads. It is pointed out that negotiation successes with Russia could be achieved in “small sub-areas”, for example the exchange of prisoners or the export of grain across the Black Sea. It is important to build on these approaches, for example in the area of arms control.
Ukrainian government sees no point in negotiations
The Ukrainian government is skeptical about diplomatic initiatives. She sees no point in negotiations with Russia until all troops have withdrawn from her territory – including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed back in 2014.
The SPD’s Russia policy before the Ukraine war had been sharply criticized in recent months. The SPD’s election program for 2021 still contains the sentence: “There can only be peace in Europe against Russia, only with it.” Now the party wants to redefine its position. At the party conference at the end of 2023, a new foreign and security policy concept is to be decided.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil admitted in October that his party had misjudged several of its Russia policies in recent decades. In a keynote speech, he advocated a fundamental rethink. “Today it’s about organizing security against Russia,” said the party leader. “Russia has left the system of common security and common values. Our security must function without Russia.”
Confidence-building with Russia conceivable in the event of a U-turn in the war
In the draft for the group’s position paper, the tone is different. It does say that Russia is acting as an aggressor that must be countered with consistent deterrence. However, Russia will continue to be a country with a significant area, population and military strength on the European continent. “This will be relevant for the design of the European security architecture in the long term.”
The authors of the paper can also imagine confidence-building measures with the country in the event of a “fundamental departure from Russia’s criminal war of aggression”. “If there is a serious willingness to do this, a policy of taking small steps, starting confidence-building initiatives in manageable areas and regularly reviewing their effectiveness, could be a diplomatic approach.”
Melnyk: “Wars are almost always decided on the battlefield”
The parliamentary group said the draft position paper had been agreed with the party leadership. A first reaction came from Kyiv. The Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk contradicted the assessment that wars are usually not decided on the battlefield. “Wars are almost always decided on the battlefield. Germany should know better than that,” wrote the former ambassador in Berlin on Twitter.
Source: Stern
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