BERLIN, Jan 22 New German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that he intends to visit Ukraine soon.
In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, Pistorius was asked where he would go on his first work trip, and he answered evasively, indicating that it had not yet been approved.
«What is certain, however, is that I will soon go to Ukraine. Perhaps even in the next four weeks,» he said.
He mentioned his meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Aleksey Reznikov in Ramstein on Friday, calling him «an open person who knows exactly what he wants.»
After the meeting of the contact group on support of Ukraine of NATO countries at the Ramstein air base, Pistorius said that Germany is not yet ready to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine, however, he appointed an inspection of this type of tank to assess the scenario for a positive decision in the future.
On Thursday, Pistorius took the oath in the Bundestag, thereby taking the post of Defense Minister.
According to the Welt newspaper, in 2018 Pistorius called for a review of EU sanctions against Russia. According to him, they damaged the country's economy and strengthened Russia's position. Pistorius was also a member of the German-Russian Friendship Group, created in cooperation with the Russian Federation Council. According to the Lower Saxon media, he studied Russian. Pistorius sharply criticized the Russian special operation in Ukraine.