Ambassador to Ukraine Jäger to become Germany's new spy chief
Jäger will replace Bruno Kahl as Germany's spy chief, with Kahl set to take up the ambassadorship to the Vatican.
The German government has yet to officially confirm the change.
Jäger is considered an experienced crisis diplomat due to his role as German ambassador to Ukraine, a post he has filled since 2023, the year after Russia's full-scale invasion of the country.
He previously served as ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Germany, Jäger, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, worked as a spokesperson for the finance ministry, then headed by Wolfgang Schäuble.
He also worked as state secretary in the Ministry of the Interior.
The Federal Intelligence Service is subordinate to the chancellery and therefore under Friedrich Merz, who is authorised to appoint the president.
The BND is tasked with collecting and evaluating information of foreign and security policy significance and supplying the federal government with reports and analyses.
The BND is one of the few government agencies authorised to use intelligence services such as espionage.
According to German outlets, the German government is planning a fundamental reorganisation of the intelligence service and wants to provide the BND with more funding.
The BND is also to be given more flexibility in terms of spying abroad and technical reconnaissance, according to the domestic press.
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LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
Europe pushes for Ukraine role in Trump-Putin talks
European leaders pushed on Sunday, August 10, for Ukraine to be a part of the negotiations between the United States and Russia, ahead of talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The two leaders will meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday to try to resolve the three-year war, but Europe has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict. EU foreign ministers will discuss the next steps before the talks in a meeting by video link on Monday, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart. The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Zelensky has raised concerns that a deal would require Kyiv to cede swathes of territory, which the EU has rejected. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement, urging Trump to put more pressure on Russia. In a flurry of diplomacy, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky held calls with 13 counterparts over three days including Kyiv's main backers Germany, Britain and France. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday said he hoped and assumed Zelensky will attend the leaders' summit. Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said any deal between the United States and Russia to end the war in Ukraine must include Kyiv and the bloc. "President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine. The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security," Kallas said. "I will convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers on Monday to discuss our next steps," she said in a statement Sunday. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga will also take part in the meeting on Monday afternoon, the ministry said. Territory sticking point NATO head Mark Rutte told ABC's This Week broadcast on Sunday that Trump was "putting pressure on Putin," adding: "Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end." New Le Monde's app Get the most out of your experience: download the app to enjoy Le Monde in English anywhere, anytime Download Ukraine's military said on Sunday it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the Russian army which has made significant recent gains. The village is on the frontline in the north of the country and about 20 kilometers west of the main fighting between the two armies in the northern region. As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO. Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield. The EU's Kallas backed Kyiv's position on Sunday. "As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine," the EU foreign policy chief said. NATO's Rutte said it was a reality that "Russia is controlling some of Ukrainian territory" and suggested a future deal could acknowledge this. "When it comes to acknowledging, for example, maybe in a future deal, that Russia is controlling, de facto, factually, some of the territory of Ukraine. It has to be effectual recognition and not a political de jure recognition," Rutte told ABC's This Week.
Local France
7 hours ago
- Local France
European leaders urge more 'pressure' on Russia ahead of Trump-Putin summit
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations. Announcing the summit last week, Trump said that "there'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" sides, without elaborating. But President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Ukraine won't surrender land to Russia to buy peace. "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier," he said on social media. "Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace," he added. Zelensky urged Ukraine's allies to take "clear steps" towards achieving a sustainable peace during a call with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer. European leaders issued a joint statement overnight Saturday to Sunday saying that "only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed". They welcomed Trump's efforts, saying they were ready to help diplomatically -- by maintaining support to Ukraine, as well as by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against Russia. "The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations", said the statement, signed by leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain, Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula Von Der Leyen, without giving more details. Advertisement They also said a resolution "must protect Ukraine's and Europe's vital security interests", including "the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity". "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," they said. National security advisors from Kyiv's allies -- including the United States, EU nations and the UK -- gathered in Britain Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit. French President Emmanuel Macron, following phone calls with Zelensky, Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said "the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukrainians" and that Europe also had to be involved in the negotiations. In his evening address Saturday, Zelensky stressed: "There must be an honest end to this war, and it is up to Russia to end the war it started." A 'dignified peace' Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes. Putin, a former KGB officer in power in Russia for over 25 years, has ruled out holding talks with Zelensky at this stage. Ukraine's leader has been pushing for a three-way summit and argues that meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace. The summit in Alaska, the far-north territory which Russia sold to the United States in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021. Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. Zelensky said of the location that it was "very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people". The Kremlin said the choice was "logical" because the state close to the Arctic is on the border between the two countries, and this is where their "economic interests intersect". Advertisement Moscow has also invited Trump to pay a reciprocal visit to Russia later. Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump's first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January, but Trump has failed to broker peace in Ukraine as he promised he could. Fighting goes on Russia and Ukraine continued pouring dozens of drones onto each other's positions in an exchange of attacks in the early hours of Saturday. A bus carrying civilians was hit in Ukraine's frontline city of Kherson, killing two people and wounding 16. The Russian army claimed to have taken Yablonovka, another village in the Donetsk region, the site of the most intense fighting in the east and one of the five regions Putin says is part of Russia. In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson -- despite not having full control over them. As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO. Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
European leaders criticise Israel's Gaza City takeover decision
European and world leaders have criticised Israel's decision to seize control of Gaza City, warning the move risks exacerbating the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Strip, and culminating in Germany's decision to suspend its exports of weapons that could be used in Gaza. The Israeli security cabinet approved the controversial plan early Friday, marking a new escalation in the country's nearly two-year-long war against Hamas. The announcement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office came after hours of debate among senior security officials. The decision to move into Gaza City was made in light of Netanyahu's earlier suggestions that the military would "take control of all Gaza," but also his claim that Israel had no intention of occupying the Strip permanently. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's decision not to authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza "until further notice" marked a break from the Staatsräson, a cornerstone of German foreign policy, which sees Israel's security as intrinsically linked to Germany's national interest. "The new military push agreed by the Israeli security cabinet makes it increasingly unclear how these goals are to be achieved,' Merz posted on X. 'The German government will, until further notice, authorise no military equipment exports that can be used in the Gaza Strip.' Merz added that with Netanyahu's planned offensive, 'the Israeli government bears even more responsibility than before for ensuring that civilians can be provided with the supplies they need,' and should 'refrain from taking any further steps towards an annexation of the West Bank.' UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the Israeli security cabinet's decision in strong terms, stating: 'Israel's decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong and we urge it to reconsider immediately.' 'This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed,' Starmer said in a statement. 'What we need is a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution.' Starmer added that Hamas 'can play no part in the future of Gaza and must leave as well as disarm.' The UK, he said, is working with allies on a long-term strategy to establish peace in the region 'as part of a two-state solution.' Israel asked to 'reconsider' The comments were echoed with even more intensity by other European politicians who made clear that the takeover of Gaza would further aggravate the current humanitarian disaster in the strip and that a ceasefire would be the only way to end the ongoing war with Hamas. Spain's foreign affairs minister, socialist José Manuel Albares, strongly condemned the decision to take over Gaza, which would "only provoke more destruction and suffering', he said. His Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp, a member of the centre-right New Social Contract, called Netanyahu's plan to take over Gaza a "wrong move'. 'The humanitarian situation is catastrophic and demands immediate improvement,' Veldkamp posted on X. "This decision in no way contributes to this and will also not help to get the hostages home.' Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon "strongly' condemned the Israeli plans and urged Israel "to halt any intention or attempt to militarily occupy Gaza'. "Any such attempts would further aggravate the already untenable humanitarian conditions. An immediate and permanent ceasefire is needed," she said. Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen echoed those concerns, stating she was 'extremely worried' about the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza. 'We hope for an immediate Gaza ceasefire and the immediate release of Israeli hostages,' she said. A more measured reaction came from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who called on the Israeli government to "reconsider' its decision to expand its military operation in Gaza. Von der Leyen made clear that the priority was the "release of all hostages, who are being held in inhumane conditions', give "immediate and unhindered' humanitarian aid to Gaza, and establish a ceasefire. In turn, European Council President António Costa reacted strongly to Netanyahu's takeover plan, urging the 27-member bloc to take action. According to Costa, Israel's decision alongside 'the illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank, the massive destruction in Gaza, the blockade of humanitarian aid, and the spread of famine,' is contrary to international law and 'violates' the agreement reached by the EU last month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. "Such a decision must have consequences for EU-Israel relations, to be assessed by the Council," Costa concluded. US President Donald Trump commented earlier this week that the decision was 'really up to Israel' and blamed Hamas for stalling negotiations. "They didn't really want to make a deal," he said. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk slammed the move, saying: 'The Israeli government's plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted.' 'It runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-state solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination,' he added. 'Declaration of a war crime' Reactions within Israel were divided. Opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced the government's plan, saying it went against the advice of military leadership. "The plan is completely contrary to the position of the military and the defence establishment, without taking into consideration the burnout and the exhaustion of the combat troops," he said. Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir warned earlier on Thursday that the plan would endanger the lives of the hostages and further stretch the military. Zamir has repeatedly clashed with the security cabinet in recent days, notably over the Gaza proposal. Prior to the security cabinet session on Thursday, Netanyahu denied Israel had any intentions of permanently controlling Gaza in its entirety. "We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter," the Israeli leader told Fox News. "We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body." He said that Israel intends to hand over the Strip to a coalition of Arab forces that would govern it. The announcement comes as humanitarian organisations continue to warn of severe conditions in Gaza, where widespread hunger and displacement are mounting daily. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza, destroyed over 60% of the enclave's buildings and infrastructure, and brought most of its 2 million residents to the brink of famine. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Fifty hostages are still being held, although fewer than half of them are believed to be alive. Israel's subsequent offensive resulted in the deaths of over 60,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, whose figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The Israeli military says nearly 900 of its soldiers have died since the start of the war.
