Russia is playing to buy time in Ukraine peace talks, says German defense minister

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius accused Russia on Tuesday of playing with time in peace talks over Ukraine, instead of being genuinely interested in a ceasefire.

Pistorius told reporters in Brussels that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "only talking about a ceasefire on his terms," ​​which includes blocking Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO and Kiev's withdrawal from occupied territories.

"Putin is clearly playing with time, unfortunately we have to say that Putin is not really interested in peace," the German Defense Minister said, the Telegraph reports.

"That's my assessment. There is no timetable," Pistorius added, speaking of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, in which the Kremlin has repeatedly refused to agree to a 30-day ceasefire agreement proposed by the US.

Russia and Ukraine will begin ceasefire negotiations "immediately," US President Donald Trump said on Monday, after separate phone calls with the leaders of both countries aimed at pushing for progress toward ending the three-year war.

Read too Trump says he's ready to "pull out" of Ukraine-Russia talks if "no progress is made"

It is not clear when or where the talks might take place or who would participate. Putin said the process would take time.

Pistorius also noted that Moscow had further attacked Ukraine since the start of the negotiations, including the largest drone attack since the start of the war in the Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions earlier this week.

"Germany would support the European Union in imposing further sanctions against Russia," Pistorius added.

He signaled an increase in Germany's defense spending target to 5% of its GDP - a big increase touted by Trump and a big jump from the country's current budget of around 2%.

"Germany would not be able to meet its NATO targets with a defense budget of 3%," Pistorius said as he opened the door to higher defense spending if necessary.

Read too EU will increase pressure on Russia to promote peace – Kaja Kallas gives details

"It's not about achieving 5% in one year. The plan is to achieve this within 5 to 7 years by increasing the defense budget by 0.2% per year. The most important thing is to start really meeting NATO requirements," he added.

His comments follow those made by Germany's new Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, in which he supported Trump's push for NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP from the existing target of 2%. /Telegraph/

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also promised to boost Germany's defense capabilities, vowing to make the weak Bundeswehr the strongest army in Europe and to use the recent easing of the country's debt-restriction rules to free up money for military spending.