Germany NATO Deployment
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00:00 For more, let's go to Berlin.
00:01 Falko Josmann sits on the German Parliament's Defence Committee.
00:04 Thank you for speaking with us here on France 24.
00:08 Good evening from Berlin.
00:11 France has military bases around the world.
00:15 Post-war, this is kind of a first, isn't it, this announcement?
00:20 Actually, it was kind of surprising, but for us as politicians, it's a logical thing, because
00:27 we already had about 3,000 soldiers deployed, most of them in Germany, but also always ready
00:34 to go to Lithuania.
00:35 It's just the next step to have them there permanently.
00:39 Have them there permanently, have a permanent base.
00:43 It's going to take a little while to set up, says the Defence Minister.
00:48 Well, first thing, this is the first time for Germany doing that, like deploying a whole
00:53 brigade outside of Germany.
00:55 We haven't done that with the German Bundeswehr, so it's something very new.
00:59 And of course, we need the whole infrastructure.
01:00 If you go to Rukla at the moment, to the barracks, they're not supposed to have so many soldiers
01:06 there on a regular basis permanently.
01:08 So Lithuania has to provide the infrastructure, we have to build it, and that will last a
01:12 couple of years.
01:15 Have to make it last a couple of years.
01:16 Are you surprised at how much consensus there is in the Bundestag over this?
01:22 Very little pushback.
01:24 Well, Boris Justus is a minister who's leading the forces.
01:30 That's what he's supposed to do as a Minister of Defence.
01:33 And you know, for us, it was kind of surprising, but it's the logical next step.
01:38 So I think there will be a big majority if all the infrastructure problems, if all the
01:44 situations with NATO, if all the situations with our forces, if that's all spoken out,
01:50 if we have discussed about that, that will happen.
01:54 Everybody's watching the infighting in Russia, but that doesn't mean that the war in Ukraine
02:00 is going to end any time soon.
02:03 Can Germany go faster in providing more of those Leopard tanks, for instance?
02:11 Well, that's a different topic you are asking at the moment, but it's okay.
02:17 Well, you know in what situation our forces were before that cruelty happened there.
02:23 And we spent, as the Deutsche Bundestag, as the parliament, we spent an additional 100
02:28 billion euros to get our forces in shape and to supply them with the most modern weapons.
02:35 So I think Germany and Europe is number one at the moment to provide weapons to Ukraine.
02:42 And as long as we are able to defend our country, to defend NATO, we will provide Ukraine everything
02:48 Ukraine needs.
02:50 Everything Ukraine needs?
02:54 As long as we are able to defend NATO and to fulfill our contracts, to defend our country,
02:59 of course, yes.
03:02 What do you make of what's happening in Moscow right now?
03:05 What's your reading of it?
03:07 Well, actually, it's not up to me to speculate.
03:10 I'm a parliamentarian, not a member of the government.
03:12 And well, of course, we get our information from the media and we get our information
03:16 from our secret services.
03:18 But you know, there's one way to end all this.
03:21 It's if the Russian forces retreat from Ukraine.
03:25 And I'm talking about the whole Ukraine.
03:27 But this has nothing to do with stationing a whole brigade.
03:30 That's just a sign that NATO stands together and that we are willing and able to protect
03:36 the Eastern Front.
03:37 And that's independent from the situation in Ukraine.
03:41 Falko Drossmann, again, I talk about the fact that Germany, a country that was thought long
03:49 and hard before going all in when it comes to bolstering its defense, when it comes to
03:57 going all in for Ukraine on this one, a large consensus.
04:02 It's not complete.
04:05 That weekend local election where the far right did well, could we see more of that
04:10 as the war drags on?
04:13 Actually, this, you know, there's a big consensus in the Deutsche Bundestag.
04:21 Actually, it's the three parties that are carrying the government at the moment and
04:25 the conservatives.
04:26 They are on our side with supporting everything for Ukraine.
04:30 We can.
04:31 So I'm not really worried that that is going to change, even though we have this very right
04:36 wing party.
04:37 But in my opinion, this is just an episode.
04:40 Just an episode.
04:41 Falko Drossmann, so many thanks for joining us from Berlin.
04:43 Yes, you're more than welcome.
04:45 It was nice to talk to you.