Inspector General of the German Army: Berlin’s pledges to NATO will be delayed 

In an interview with the Sunday edition of the Welt newspaper, Inspector General of the German Army Carsten Breuer admitted that Germany would need more time than planned to fulfill the commitment of its military contributions in the field of defense within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

When asked whether there were military capabilities that the German government had pledged but that couldn’t likely be provided to NATO until later, he replied, “They certainly exist”.

Brewer refused to go into details, indicating that opponents may benefit from this information.

He explained that the army leadership is in constant communication regarding the situation with the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, Christopher Cavoli.

German Chief of Staff Carsten Breuer said that his country must be prepared for war within 5 years, pointing out that preparing for war is a phased process.

He said, “We don’t have time infinitely, because for the first time since the end of the Cold War, a potential war is imposed on us from outside… When I follow analysts and see the possibility of a military threat from Russia, this means for us a preparation time of 5 to 8 years”.

In response to a question about Russian President Vladimir Putin expanding the war beyond Ukraine, the German Chief of Staff said, “First and foremost are intentions… I see it in what Putin writes and says, and in his actions in Ukraine… This includes military capabilities… We’ve seen that Russia turned to a war economy by the decision of the Duma… Now the possibility is increasing”.

The German government signed several contracts to purchase weapons, the most important of which was the purchase of F-35 fighters, US Chinook transport helicopters, and an Israeli-made Arrow 3 missile defense system.

It’s noteworthy that days after Russian forces crossed the border into Ukraine in February 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to bring about a turning point in German defense policy.

Scholz announced a one-time armament program worth 100 billion Euros ($107 billion) to modernize the German army in the interest of national and collective defense, however, criticism has increased over the slow pace of reinforcements.