German and British defense ministers convened in Berlin on Thursday for their first ministerial meeting, following signing the military cooperation agreement last year.
“Today’s conference shows that we not only agree with important projects, but we’re only half the battle, but we’re implementing them together and implementing them very quickly,” said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
The conference took place amid a turbulent diplomatic environment, with NATO Foreign Ministers convened in Turkey to discuss the US initiative aimed at significantly increasing defence investments as the US focuses on focusing on security issues beyond Europe.
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a proposal from Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky for an in-person meeting in Turkey, but representatives from both countries are expected to engage in the first direct discussion in years.
British Defense Minister John Healy noted that Putin’s decision to abandon the meeting with Zelensky in Istanbul was important.
“This is the day when he exposes Putin what he is. He wants peace, but he says he refuses to go through a complete ceasefire. He says he wants to end the fight, but he continues to attack and kill Ukrainian civilians and cities.
Meanwhile, Robert Blieger, chairman of the European Union’s military committee, announced that the Bloc is planning to double the delivery of heavy ammunition to Ukraine this year.
Comments came after the EU defence chief took place in Brussels on Thursday.
“The goal is to deliver 2 million rounds of heavy caliber ammunition to your country over the course of this year, so double the amount last year,” Breeger said.
Breeger said the EU is encouraging member states to generate more ammunition to achieve that goal.
“We are trying to set incentives for Member States to procure more and produce more, using contracts laid out by the EDA (European Defense Agency).”
“But it raises new initiatives, whether financial, by strengthening cooperation with the Ukrainian defence industry,” Breeger added.
Breeger also spoke about the potential resources needed to tackle the maritime threat posed by the Kremlin’s Shadow Fleet. The EU military chief noted that the bloc must strengthen its available vessels to effectively secure its water and protect it from threats.
“Looking at existing marine operations, when three of them are in the northwest Indian Ocean and one in the Mediterranean, we are frankly lacking resources,” Breeger told reporters after the meeting.
“When such missions are launched, it is important to be able to ensure in advance that, if reliable, there are sufficient ships, sufficient aircraft, and sufficient resources to carry out such missions through the sensing and hardworking planning of each unit.”
Additional sources •AP, transported
