defense
Green boss: deal restrictively with arms exports
Omid Nouripour is the federal chairman of the Greens. photo
© Annette Riedl/dpa
With a view to the black-red previous government, Green Party leader Omid Nouripour wants a more restrictive approach to arms exports – “despite all the need to support Ukraine.”
Green Party leader Omid Nouripour has called for cautious approval of German arms exports.
“The grand coalition has partially approved export figures for armaments that we did not like,” he said in the ARD “Tagesthemen” with a view to the black-red previous government. The numbers were rightly criticized by many in the SPD. “And we want to get off those numbers,” Nouripour said. “Despite all the need to help Ukraine, we always have to look at arms exports to see how they can lead to the next conflicts. And that’s why it’s important to deal with them restrictively.”
In the current year, the traffic light government has so far approved arms exports worth almost 5.1 billion euros. This emerges from additional information from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology on the arms export report for the past year, which the cabinet passed in Meseberg at the end of August. This includes deliveries to Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia’s invasion since February 24. For comparison: In the same period last year, the black-red coalition reportedly allowed exports worth around 2.9 billion euros. Overall, the federal government – in 2021 that was above all the black-red previous government – approved arms exports for 9.35 billion euros last year, more than ever before.
Hofreiter advocates the delivery of tanks
Nouripour’s party colleague Anton Hofreiter, meanwhile, pleaded for a speedy delivery of German Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. “Sooner or later we will not be able to avoid supplying Ukraine with modern, Western battle tanks,” he told the Bayern media group. Russia has largely destroyed the Ukrainian arms industry. At the same time, the old Soviet tanks offered poor protection against Russian attacks. “I think we should deliver Leopard main battle tanks as soon as possible to prevent Ukrainian soldiers from dying unnecessarily.”
When asked about this, Nouripour said: “The issue is not primarily about individual weapon systems. Yes, they can be infantry fighting vehicles, they can be main battle tanks. But the issue is how we, in alliance with the others, give Ukraine what they are need it as soon as possible.”
The chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), had also demanded that Ukraine be given the German Leopard 2 main battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles it had requested. The delivery list so far includes the Gepard anti-aircraft vehicle, the Panzerhaubitze 2000, multiple rocket launchers and the Iris-T anti-aircraft system as well as other weapons. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had avoided the question of the delivery of western battle tanks. It “remains with the attitude that the German government has taken from the beginning and which will also be our attitude for the future, namely that there are no German solo efforts.”