Germany reaffirms position on sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has ruled out delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, citing the risk of Berlin becoming direct or indirectly involved in the ongoing conflict with Russia, the DPA agency reported on Tuesday.
Kiev has long been requesting the German weapons, but Scholz has been reluctant to supply them out of fear of escalating hostilities. The chancellor, who is facing increased pressure on the issue from German MPs and coalition partners, argued that the use of such weapons would require tighter control from Berlin and the presence of German specialists on the ground. Scholz also said he would not allow the nation’s troops to become directly involved in the Ukraine conflict.
“My clarity is there. It is my job as chancellor, as head of the government, to be precise and not raise any misleading expectations. My answers are correspondingly clear,” Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin on Monday, as quoted by DPA.
The German chancellor was asked for his view on a missile swap deal with the UK that had been proposed by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. She told state broadcaster ARD on Sunday that Berlin could accept a UK offer to supply British Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine in exchange for Taurus deliveries to the UK.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron did not rule out a swap deal last week, hinting that London was willing to barter weaponry. Cameron told Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung that London was “determined to work closely with our German partners on this issue as well as on all the other ones to help Ukraine.”
Commenting on Scholz’s statement on Tuesday, Social Democratic Party (SPD) General Secretary Kevin Kuhnert called for an end to the debate about Taurus supplies to Ukraine, saying people should “deal with the fact that the chancellor has made a decision.”
According to the chancellor, Kiev could use the German-made missiles, which have a range of up to 500km, to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, potentially provoking a dangerous escalation.
