There is not just the threat of war in Europe, but a real war raging, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, accusing Russia of “destroying the entire security architecture in Europe” with its attack on Ukraine.

The federal president also advocated the restoration of compulsory military service in Germany and blamed the US for Israel’s attack on nuclear facilities in Iran. He called on the German government to persuade the Israeli government in order to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Germany must draw its own conclusions from Russia’s “belligerent attack on Ukraine, which violates international law,” Steinmeier said in his customary “summer interview” with German public broadcaster ZDF’s second channel on Sunday, adding that given this reality, the debate on reintroducing compulsory military service should be reopened.

Europe and Germany need to be better protected and that includes conscription, the federal president said. “I am a supporter of conscription because I believe that with the changing security situation in Europe, with the fact that there is a war going on and given the conclusions we have drawn from it, the Bundeswehr’s personnel resources must also be improved and this can only be achieved if more young people are recruited again,” Steinmeier noted, and expressed doubts about whether the necessary increase in personnel can be achieved by conscription only on a voluntary basis.

The German president also highlighted the critical importance of cooperation with European partners and NATO allies and described the outcome of the recent Alliance summit as “successful”: “We have realized that we have to take more care of our security. Not to make war, but to prevent war,” he said.
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Asked about the situation in Israel, he acknowledged his closeness to the Israeli leadership, but also made clear that “there must be an improvement in the humanitarian situation in Gaza.” Israel, he said, “is a friend and partner, but this has to be discussed and who else, if not us, should have such talks with the Israeli government?”

On the Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the federal president also blamed US President Donald Trump for escalating the conflict in the region. “After long negotiations, an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program was signed in 2015. At that time, Iran was far from developing its nuclear capabilities, something we should fear today. However, the first Trump administration cancelled that agreement and Iran subsequently further developed its nuclear program. All the participants at the time, Europeans, Americans, Russians and Chinese, had agreed that Iran should never acquire nuclear weapons,” he said.