Ruptly
"German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius made an astonishing plea to reporters not to publish any leaked documents about the US potentially quitting NATO - as he outlined military strategy in Berlin on Wednesday. "The world has become more unpredictable and yes, one must also say, more dangerous," he warnted. "And therefore, we have very clearly analysed how the threat situation will develop in the coming years. Which scenarios are conceivable or likely? And what would a possible without always being able to really predict it, a possible war scenario that we would have to respond to in the event of an attack on NATO territory? It goes without saying that we do not make these scenarios public. Otherwise, we might as well add Vladimir Putin to our email distribution list!" One media representative put to him about Donald Trump 'possibly conventionally withdrawing militarily from Europe or even questioning NATO membership'. "Rest assured, we are considering these matters," Pistorius reacted. "But I also have a sincere request: if you have come into possession of these papers by any inexplicable means, please do not publish them… Because we are talking about the security of Germany and the security of NATO. And publication is one interest, but the country's security is another." Pistorius has repeatedly said NATO needed to become 'more European' following Trump's ongoing condemnation of his 'allies' for what the US leader saw as a failure to step up and help him with Iran. The president dubbed NATO a 'paper tiger' and questioned if the alliance would ever be there for him. Meanwhile the defence minister said Germany would create the "strongest conventional army in Europe" through military service reforms - which he said still included the possibility of mandatory conscription. He has been under pressure internally to go further on troop numbers, but stuck to " 460,000 deployable soldiers, combining active troops and reserves" - though did add that the plan was a 'living document' that could be changed in the future. He also said he expected a decision on FCAS 'this week' -the French-German-Spanish fighter jet programme intended to replace existing warplanes by 2040."
Go to News Site