German Defense Minister Rejects Proposal to Establish a “No-Fly Zone” in Ukraine

The idea of ​​a no-fly zone over Ukraine is not being considered because it would mean NATO would be drawn into hostilities, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on May 21.

“Establishing a no-fly zone in western Ukraine would be like engaging in hostilities, that is why we are not considering it,” Pistorius was quoted by Reuters as saying while the German minister was on a visit to Latvia.

Mr Pistorius' comments came after a cross-party group of lawmakers in Germany's Busdestag (lower house) floated the idea of ​​protecting Ukraine's airspace with air defence systems deployed along the country's borders with Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

On May 12, several German lawmakers, from the opposition CDU as well as the FDP and Green parties in the ruling coalition, proposed establishing a 70-kilometer NATO air defense zone over Ukraine.

The proposal is said to be inspired by how the Western coalition intercepted hundreds of missiles and drones launched by Iran towards Israel last month.

During that crisis, British, French and US air forces, along with others, shot down Iranian missiles with fire from Western allied bases scattered around the region and from Jordanian airspace.

A missile launched into Ukraine from Russia's Belgorod region flies across the sky at dawn in Kharkiv, March 24, 2023. Photo: RFE/RL

Roderich Kiesewetter, spokesman for the CDU's crisis unit, told Germany's FAZ newspaper that the initiative would bolster Ukrainian forces in the east, where a new Russian offensive is underway.

“This will ease the burden on the Ukrainian air defense forces and allow them to protect the front,” Kiesewetter told the German newspaper.

However, Rolf Mützenich, head of the parliamentary group of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party, said the proposal was “irresponsible.” “Protecting Ukraine’s airspace through NATO deployment would go against the principle of not getting directly involved in the war,” he said.

In addition, Mr. Steffen Hebestreit, the spokesman of the German Government , also rejected the possibility of establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Speaking to the German newspaper Asb Zeitung on May 13, Mr. Hebestreit noted that similar proposals in the past had been rejected, and this approach also applied to the new proposals.

The spokesman also said that the current priority is to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, and Germany is contributing to this by providing additional Patriot systems to Kiev .

Minh Duc (According to TASS, The Telegraph, LIGA)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/bo-truong-quoc-phong-duc-bac-bo-de-xuat-lap-vung-cam-bay-o-ukraine-a664764.html