Overview

• He made the comment on Funke Mediengruppe’s podcast 'Meine schwerste Entscheidung', saying he would 'of course' defend the country with a weapon if necessary.
• He argued Germany’s discussion about whether to fight occurs from a 'very privileged' vantage point compared with choices faced in eastern Ukraine.
• He stated he has never been a pacifist and reiterated positions that have made him one of the Greens’ loudest supporters of weapons deliveries to Ukraine since 2022.
• He recalled being exempted from conscription as a young man due to a leg-length difference and said he likely would have refused service at the time.
• He is 55 and chairs the Bundestag’s European Affairs Committee, and he also recounted past threatening encounters in Bavaria that he linked to political rhetoric.