German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed agreement with German politicians demanding that Ukrainian men of conscription age return to Ukraine, and said the German government could help Kyiv with this by sharing data on Ukrainian citizens in Germany.
"After all, we know who lives here - for example, who receives social benefits, who is registered here, who has residency status. (The Ukrainian government can - IFU) write to these men that they need to be conscripted," Wadephul told Bild's editor-in-chief in an interview.
At the same time, the minister said any return should happen "without coercion."
The minister also said he rejects calls, coming from Germany's SPD and AfD parties, to scale back support for Ukraine and reconsider defense spending. "The overwhelming majority of Germany's population supports our policy on Ukraine," Wadephul said.
Commenting on cooperation with Ukraine, he said he would like to see more support from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "We are currently Ukraine's biggest backer when it comes to financial and military support. And of course German defense industry should benefit from that. I told President Zelenskyy this during my last visit as well. We stand with you, we support you, but I also have to explain this to German taxpayers, and the least you can do is also involve German defense industry in all your procurement. Right now we're not entirely satisfied with how many orders are being placed in Germany," the minister said.
"So we've now asked the Ukrainian government to look into this and make sure the situation improves," Wadephul added.
Commenting on remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who denied Russian involvement in the attempted sabotage at Leipzig/Halle Airport and called Germany's response "the start of a real war," Germany's top diplomat said: "We know for certain, and Sergei Lavrov surely knows too, that Russia was behind what happened in Leipzig, and that we responded, had to respond - he knows that, it's clear to everyone."
He called Lavrov's rhetorical escalation "an expression of a certain Russian desperation." Russia is "far less successful in this war than it would like to be," since "the war was supposed to end in a few days, and it's now in its fifth year," Wadephul said.
