Ursula von der Leyen, Germany’s Defence Minister, underlined during the evening of Friday 5 October, in an interview broadcast on Euronews, that her country wanted to take on more responsibility in the military field.
“Two or three years ago, all the members of the federal government clearly said it was time Germany took on a greater and more significant role”, she explained, adding that this involved the development of different skills in “diplomacy, development cooperation and also in the military field”.
Although, because of its past history, Germany has remained in the background with regards defence, “in the situation in which Germany finds itself today, at the heart of Europe, we should rather say that, because of our history, we must also be involved in the globalised world and defend our common values”, von der Leyen said. She went on to recall that, when Da’esh took control of Mossul, Germany stood ready to send weapons to the Peshmergas and to train them. She considers this to be an “example of a broader approach that we must and we are able to adopt. It is not always easy and it is sometimes a bumpy road with two steps forward and one step back – but we are going in the right direction”.
When asked about Syria, the minister said that Europe had failed. “This civil war has been raging for many years. For a long while, we did not want to pay attention. And then, when Da’esh appeared, we took up the fight against it as part of the coalition against terrorism”, she said. She went on to add that the war in Syria was a “bitter lesson for Europe”. “Unless we do something about it now, it will be directly on our own doorstep”.
When taken to task for having said that Germany might react if Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons again, the minister explained what she had meant, saying: “Germany must refrain from saying from the outset that it will not take part in this approach. In so doing, what a disastrous message we would be sending to Bashar al-Assad: we are saying that, whatever he does, we shall not become involved!” (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)