Scholz again opposes the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine
In his opinion, this will make Germany a party to the conflict
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has once again spoken out against the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
"For me, it is out of the question to supply long-range weapons systems, which only make sense if they involve German soldiers, even if they are outside Ukraine," the head of government said in the Bundestag on Wednesday, 13 March.
"This is a line that I do not want to cross as chancellor," Reuters quoted the politician as saying.
At the same time, Scholz did not address the question of whether Taurus missiles can be used without the participation of German soldiers.
According to the head of government, the supply of long-range cruise missiles will make Germany a party to the conflict.
"As chancellor, I am obliged to prevent Germany from being drawn into this war," he stressed. Scholz believes that other European and NATO leaders share his opinion.
Answering a question from the CDU/CSU parliamentary faction, the Chancellor stressed that "prudence and deliberation" should not be misrepresented as "indecision, cowardice or anything else". "Prudence is not something that can be qualified as a weakness, as some do. Prudence is something to which the citizens of this country are entitled," the Prime Minister said.
Scholz also rejected accusations that he does not trust Ukraine. "We do trust Ukraine. That is why Germany is the largest supplier of weapons among European countries," the chancellor said.
Discussions about the need for Germany to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles have been going on for many months. The position of the chancellor, who is categorically against such a decision, is not shared not only by the opposition CDU/CSU bloc, but also by some representatives of the parties in the government coalition.
"Ukraine needs more ammunition, more spare parts, and the Taurus should be delivered immediately to further complicate Russian logistics," said Marie-Agnes Strach-Zimmermann, a defence expert of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and chair of the Bundestag Defence Committee.
In his turn, CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Retgen called the decision to cancel the Taurus delivery a "fundamental loss of trust" for the entire coalition. "The chancellor's refusal to hand over the Taurus to the Ukrainians is contributing to the prolongation of the war. Therefore, this policy has serious moral and political shortcomings," the Bundestag member said.
Background. As a reminder, Politico wrote that Scholz is not providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles because of panic fear of Russia. And that Scholz's inconsistency in supporting Ukraine is actually a well-thought-out strategy.
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