FDP politician
Strack-Zimmermann “stunned” by Scholz’s no to Taurus deliveries to Ukraine
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann
© AFP
FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann has criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his refusal to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
The FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann has sharply criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD)’s rejection of the delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. “I am really stunned by the dramatic situation in Ukraine,” Strack-Zimmermann told Welt TV on Monday. “It’s about the actual situation, but it’s also about the psychological situation and the fact that this is happening at this moment – I can’t believe it!”
The FDP politician went on to say that Scholz was wrong when he claimed that Bundeswehr soldiers had to go to Ukraine to prepare this weapon. That’s simply not true, the Chancellor is looking for excuses.
Strack-Zimmermann: “Who advises the Chancellor?”
“Where there is a will, there is indeed a way,” emphasized Strack-Zimmermann. “But obviously arguments are now being brought out that have already been brought out before – and of course I ask myself: Who is advising the Chancellor? I find that very worrying.”
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On Monday, Scholz reiterated his rejection of a delivery of Taurus cruise missiles. “We will not become a warring party – neither directly nor indirectly. These two principles guide all my decisions,” he wrote on the short message service X, formerly Twitter.
Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, has been demanding Taurus cruise missiles for months. Among other things, it wants to use these long-range missiles to hit Russian supply lines far behind the front. The Chancellery is worried that the Ukraine war will escalate in this way with German participation. Representatives of the coalition partners Greens and FDP, on the other hand, openly advocate for Taurus deliveries to Ukraine.
SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich now called on the coalition partners to end the dispute over the issue. “Some in the coalition are not thinking about the end. We live in difficult times, a lot of things are wavering,” Mützenich told “Stern”. “The fact that some people now think they have to look for personal gains in territory doesn’t do anyone any good. Everyone has to pull themselves together now.”
Some in the coalition would try to restrict the Chancellor’s space to “weigh up decisions and ultimately bring them about,” the SPD politician continued. “It is important that the Chancellor does not give in to this constant pressure.”