defense
Kühnert calls for an end to the Taurus debate
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert: The SPD “fully shares” Scholz’s decision on Taurus deliveries. photo
© Carsten Koall/dpa
The disunity in the traffic lights before the vote on Thursday is growing. Scholz reiterates his no to Taurus deliveries. Kevin Kühnert is now calling for an end to the debate.
“I ask that you respect this decision now, even if you have a different opinion on the matter, and turn your attention to other important questions.” The SPD “fully shares” the decision of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
Despite opposing opinions, Scholz also spoke out against deliveries of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine in the ranks of his coalition partners from the Greens and FDP. This Thursday, the Bundestag is scheduled to vote on a CDU proposal. There are signs that this could also be supported by the FDP and the Greens.
Meanwhile, CDU defense politician Johann Wadephul insisted on a statement from Scholz in the Bundestag. “We need to know what really determines his negative decision not to trust Ukraine,” said Wadephul on WDR5 “Morgenecho”. There are several traffic light MPs who wanted to agree to the Union proposal and Scholz rejected it – “and he now has to explain that conclusively to the public and, first of all, to Parliament.” A government questioning in the Bundestag with Scholz is scheduled for Wednesday.
Ukrainian ambassador reiterates Taurus demand
Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev has reiterated the need to deliver German Taurus cruise missiles to his country. “This is a war of modern technology and far-reaching weapon systems can help us to hit the Russian ammunition depots, command centers but also delivery routes so that the Russians do not have such a strong presence in the occupied territories,” said Makeiev in the ARD morning magazine.
The Chancellor justifies his rejection of Taurus deliveries by saying that their use would not be possible without the help of German soldiers and that Germany would therefore run the risk of becoming involved in the war. Makeiev now said: “We never wanted the German soldiers to be in Ukraine now or for Germany to become a war party. We always said: Give us weapons and we’ll get the job done.”
The ambassador does not believe that Scholz might mistrust Ukraine: “We have never once given a reason why we are not trusted. We have used all systems in consultation with our partners as agreed.” At the same time, Makeiev emphasized that his country also needs ammunition and other weapons. “We need everything. A single system cannot solve the problem.”