defense
Scholz reiterates no to Taurus: “My clarity is there”
The photo released by the Bundeswehr shows a Taurus guided missile over sea as part of the “Two Oceans” exercise. photo
© Bundeswehr/Bundeswehr/dpa
As the disagreement grows in the traffic lights ahead of Thursday’s vote, Scholz repeats his rejection. The delivery of the cruise missiles is not justifiable.
The differences of opinion over the delivery of cruise missiles to Ukraine are becoming clearer. But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has once again clearly rejected the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
“My clarity is there. That is my job as Chancellor, as head of government, to express myself precisely and not to raise any misleading expectations. My answers are correspondingly clear,” said Scholz at a press conference in Berlin when asked whether he would like Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sees a ring exchange with Great Britain as an option instead of a direct delivery. He does not consider the use of the Taurus to be justifiable, which is why this question is “neither direct nor indirect,” emphasized Scholz.
Ukraine requested the missiles with a range of 500 kilometers from Germany last May. Scholz clearly rejected the request first in October and then again two weeks ago. He reiterated that he did not want to hand over the weapon system to the Ukrainians without German control of the targeting. Since in his view this would not be possible without German soldiers, he rejected the operation. Scholz fears that Germany could otherwise be drawn into the war.
Baerbock had previously described a so-called ring swap, in which Germany would give Taurus cruise missiles to Great Britain and London would deliver more Storm Shadow from its stocks to Ukraine, as an “option”. British Foreign Minister David Cameron did not rule out such an approach in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil rejects this. In the ARD “Morgenmagazin” he also defended Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s no to Taurus deliveries to Ukraine and demanded that European partners should concentrate on finally producing and delivering more ammunition. Klingbeil said: “This is what everyone should focus on and not other debates.”
Merz is skeptical about ring exchanges
CDU leader Friedrich Merz is skeptical about the option of a Taurus ring exchange for Ukraine, but is fundamentally open to it. “That may be the second best solution to achieve the goal – that’s not particularly honorable,” said Merz after a meeting of the presidiums of the CDU and CSU in Berlin. For him, the option of exchanging rings seems “a bit” like saying, “Wash my fur, but don’t get me wet.”
CDU foreign expert Norbert Röttgen and Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter together heavily criticized Scholz. In a guest article for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” they accused the SPD politician of “catastrophic defeatism” and “dramatically poor communication”. With a view to Scholz’s arguments against a Taurus delivery, they criticized the Chancellor for spreading fear and terror among the population. Scholz’s claim that Taurus deliveries are turning Germany into a warring party is “factually and legally wrong.” This also snubs France and Great Britain, who have already delivered.
The Union wants to submit another proposal for a vote in the Bundestag on Thursday to supply Ukraine with the Taurus system. There are signs that the Union proposal could also be supported by individual members of the FDP and Greens. Strack-Zimmermann indicated his distance from the Union’s actions. The Bundestag can vote every week, she said. But one must be careful that the issue, which is important for Ukraine, “does not degenerate into a farce.”
Dürr: The Union’s proposal is “purely symbolic politics”
In this context, FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr reminded the liberal Bundestag members of a principle from the traffic light coalition agreement. “There are no changing majorities within a coalition,” he told the news portal “t-online”. He described the Union’s proposal as “purely symbolic politics”, because the federal government, not parliament, decides on arms deliveries. The coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP states on the subject of voting behavior: “In the German Bundestag and in all the committees it appoints, the coalition factions vote uniformly. This also applies to questions that are not the subject of the agreed policy. Changing majorities are excluded. “
Green Party co-leader Omid Nouripour sees a ring exchange with the Taurus cruise missile as a way to further support Ukraine. This could be “an option for how we can cut the knot,” he said. This possibility must now be examined urgently, said Nouripour.
A possible escalation of the conflict is a consideration for the federal government when making decisions about support for Ukraine. “And you have to take these concerns very, very seriously,” explained Nouripour. But: “We Greens believe that, especially in the current situation, Ukraine needs weapon systems that reach the entire national territory, including cruise missiles.” However, there is no agreement within the federal government on this matter. “And that’s why we now have to look at how we can help with other means.”