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🇦🇹 Austria /Conflict & Security

Germany’s top defence official: “We are explicitly not at war”

From Der Standard · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Martin Schäfer, the German Defence Ministry’s political director, said strong European defence does not necessarily require a European army.
  • Schäfer, who took up his post this summer, gave a rare interview to Der Standard at the European Forum Alpbach.
  • The article notes that suspected Russian involvement in a series of sabotage incidents in Germany could make his first summer in office turbulent.

A strong European defence does not necessarily require a European army, according to Martin Schäfer, the political director of Germany’s Defence Ministry.

Schäfer took up the post this summer, making him the ministry’s highest-ranking civil servant. He gave one of his rare interviews to Der Standard at the European Forum Alpbach.

His arrival comes as Germany faces a series of sabotage incidents in which Russian involvement is suspected. The article says those incidents could make his first summer in the position a turbulent one.

Schäfer’s headline message was direct: “We are explicitly not at war.”

We are explicitly not at war.

· Martin SchäferThe German Defence Ministry political director emphasized the government’s position on the security situation.
About this summary

Originally published by Der Standard in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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