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Possible Taurus ring exchange with Great Britain: Will Ukraine still get cruise missiles?
Not always of the same opinion when it comes to Taurus: Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chairwoman of the Bundestag Defense Committee
© Michael Kappeler / DPA
Chancellor Olaf Scholz had actually rejected the Taurus deliveries – now an objection from Great Britain is bringing fresh wind into the debate. The most important information about a possible ring exchange.
The traffic light coalition is facing another difficult week in the Taurus debate. Shortly before a new vote in the Bundestag, Great Britain responded to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s resistance to the delivery of cruise missiles to the Ukraine reacts. Foreign Minister David Cameron opened a door for the German Chancellor at the weekend: his country is determined to “work closely with our German partners to help Ukraine,” he told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung.” A barter trade that could allay Scholz’s concerns about the arms deliveries cannot be ruled out.
Where did the idea of a ring exchange come from and what is it?
In an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, British Foreign Minister David Cameron suggested a ring exchange that could allay Scholz’s concerns. In such a ring exchange, Germany could give Taurus cruise missiles to Great Britain – and London, in turn, could deliver further Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine.
Scholz rejects the delivery of the Taurus missiles with a range of 500 kilometers to Ukraine because he fears that this could drag Germany into the war. Germany “could not do what the British and French are doing in terms of targeting and accompanying targeting.” This was taken by some as a sign that Scholz did not trust the Ukrainians to use the missiles responsibly.
What is the British position regarding cruise missiles?
Great Britain had already delivered modern “Storm Shadow” missiles last year. Cameron dismissed Scholz’s concerns that the delivery could lead to an escalation of the war. It is “absolutely possible to place restrictions on the use of these weapons to ensure that they do not in any way contribute to escalation. And they do not,” he said. Great Britain trusts Ukraine’s corresponding assurances. They are satisfied with the arrangements they have made.
Has Germany ever agreed to a ring exchange?
Scholz had already resorted to barter as an indirect variant of military aid at the beginning of the Ukraine war, when he did not yet want to send Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. At that time, allies were supported with Leos in order to deliver their significantly less powerful tanks from Soviet times to Ukraine.
Germany and the Czech Republic are currently also in talks about exchanging rings to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons. Germany could therefore provide the Czech Republic with additional Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks. According to information from the German Press Agency, these are tanks procured from Switzerland, which are contractually not allowed to be delivered to Ukraine. In return, the Czech Republic would hand over additional Soviet T-72 tanks from its stocks to Ukraine.
The Chancellor had rejected Taurus deliveries, has anything changed?
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit simply said on the question of ring exchange: “There is no new status.” Scholz made a decision about the Taurus. The Chancellor rejects the delivery of German cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers to Ukraine because he fears that their use could ultimately drag Germany into the war. Last week he said of his rejection: “I am the Chancellor and that’s why it applies.”
What does the federal government say about a possible ring exchange?
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is skeptical about a possible ring exchange. When asked whether this was a suitable solution to the Taurus debate, Pistorius said on Monday evening in Berlin: “I don’t think so.” British Foreign Minister David Cameron did not make this suggestion on his own initiative, but simply said, when asked by a journalist, that the British government was examining all options. “But that was it,” said Pistorius.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described such an approach as a possibility at the weekend.
What’s next for Taurus?
The Greens expect the possibility of a Taurus ring exchange with Great Britain to be examined quickly. This could be an option to “cut the knot” and help Ukraine with cruise missiles, said Green Party leader Omid Nouripour on Monday in Berlin.
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.”
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. “