Minister Pistorius, in a statement to Der Spiegel magazine, shared his view: "NATO's concept is not obedience, but a free spirit in the consultation process. Decisions within NATO are made by consensus with the free will of all member states and are not imposed by individual member states."

Underlining that this issue should be approached from a different perspective, Pistorius stated that many NATO members have not fulfilled their commitment to increase defense spending, which they made to the Alliance and thus to the US, for years.

Pistorius explained that the US administration is trying to persuade European allies to fulfill their obligations, emphasizing that the truly important issue is reaching a consensus on a common goal that all allies will pursue together.

Evaluating Germany's exposure to criticism from US President Donald Trump despite being the country with the highest defense spending for NATO in Europe, Pistorius stated that it is customary for the US administration to use a harsher tone in situations of disagreement.

Using the expression "None of us are made of sugar," Pistorius stated that the criticisms on this matter should not be exaggerated.

Responding to a question about whether Trump's support could be won through defense spending, Pistorius stated that "Trump's affection cannot be bought with money."

Pistorius stated that the German army's investments to increase its operational capability are made in line with its own security understanding, not to gain the appreciation of any country. He emphasized that these efforts aim to strengthen the security of Germany and its NATO allies, and do not intend to buy anyone's affection.

Responding to criticisms regarding the halt of the German-French joint fighter jet project FCAS, which involved billions of euros in spending, and the F126 frigate program, Pistorius argued that canceling the projects was necessary for the responsible management of public funds.

The Defense Minister stated that if these projects had continued, much larger financial losses would have emerged in the coming years, adding, "We stopped these two projects precisely because we are managing money responsibly."

Pistorius stated that no consensus could be reached on fundamental issues between French companies Dassault Aviation and Airbus, and that disagreements could not be resolved despite intensive political initiatives he pursued with his French counterpart.

Pistorius emphasized that stopping the project with the French partners before it reached a critical stage was "the right decision," arguing that this prevented potentially larger financial losses in the future.