What the meeting is about

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has so far only emphasized that Russia must not win the war. Austin went one step further after visiting Poland and Ukraine with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken: “We want to see Russia weakened to the extent that it can do the kind of things that it has to do with the invasion of Ukraine can no longer do,” said the Pentagon chief.

During their visit to Kyiv, the two ministers explained that they received important information about the support that Ukraine still needs. This will be discussed at the meeting in Ramstein, which is expressly not declared as a NATO meeting. The war goal of conquering all of Ukraine has already been missed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As the war is now entering “the next phase,” Pentagon spokesman Kirby said it was necessary to plan for the longer term and think about the time after the war. Questions such as the future arming of a Ukrainian army, security guarantees for a neutral Ukraine or even integration into an alliance are likely to play a role. “It’s about beginning a discussion with like-minded nations about the long-term defense relationships Ukraine needs going forward,” Kirby said.

Read more about the Ukraine War and the German debate on heavy arms deliveries here:

After their visit to Kyiv, Blinken and Austin emphasized how much the Ukrainians appreciate the leadership and commitment of the United States. The United States has so far pledged more than $3.6 billion in aid.

What Federal Defense Minister Lambrecht can offer the allies at the Ramstein meeting is open – the traffic light parties in Berlin are still struggling to find a common line on the delivery of heavy weapons.

On Monday, Lambrecht met Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who was on a state visit to Berlin. This called for more support from Ukraine: “If we don’t help our neighbors when their house is on fire, their fire will also reach our house,” warned Kallas. States that could make heavy weapons redundant should give them up. “Liberty must be better armed than tyranny,” said Kallas. The Federal Defense Minister stressed that Germany would again secure NATO airspace over the Baltic States from August.

Lambrecht, who, like Chancellor Scholz, is also being put under considerable pressure by parts of her own coalition because of her alleged hesitancy in the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine, repeated this a few days ago in a letter to the members of the Bundestag from the SPD, Greens and FDP promoted the position of the federal government. Germany is already supporting Ukraine in a variety of ways – through deliveries from Bundeswehr stocks, money for armaments purchases from national or European pots or the approval of commercial exports from industry to Ukraine.

Now there is also the “ring exchange”: Allies are still delivering Soviet-era war equipment such as T-72 tanks to Ukraine, and Germany is helping to fill in the gaps, the minister writes. However, the Bundeswehr cannot hand over any heavy weapons from its own stocks if the national and alliance defenses are not to be jeopardized.

“Our contribution to the NATO alliance will be more important than ever in the years to come,” the letter to MEPs concludes, “and in particular on NATO’s eastern flank and at our most important ally in Washington DC, people will be watching closely to see whether and how we as Germany can find our way into our new security policy role in Europe and in the Alliance.”

Lambrecht should also get an impression of how this new role is evaluated at the meeting in Ramstein.

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