Chancellery emphasizes:

As long as Scholz is in office, no Taurus to Kiev

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz considers the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to be a red line.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/AFP/Sebastian PIEKNIK, AFP/Tobias SCHWARZ)

Following the lifting of restrictions on the US ATACMS missile system, the debate in Germany on the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine has flared up again. The CDU/CSU as well as the FDP and the Greens are in favor of extending military aid to this weapon system. However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is unequivocally sticking to his position: no Taurus to Kiev under his chancellorship.

The Chancellor's position remains "unchanged". This will also "not change", government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner stated on Monday. His current government partner and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) had stated the previous day in an interview with ARD-Hauptstadtstudio that he would approve the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles as head of government.

FDP brings new vote in the Bundestag into play
FDP leader and former finance minister Christian Lindner and CDU chairman Friedrich Merz are also in favor of supporting Ukraine with more extensive weapons. Lindner recently even brought up a new vote on the issue in the Bundestag - in the hope that the three parties could achieve a majority against the Chancellor's veto. However, it is not the Bundestag that decides on arms exports, but the Federal Security Council. The Chancellor has the final say there.

Before the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, numerous participants alongside EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell supported the permission given by US President Biden at the weekend, according to media reports. Borrell appealed to the EU member states to allow Ukraine to use European weapons for attacks inside Russia. The Spaniard also called for faster support for Ukraine. He expected a further discussion on the use of weapons in Ukraine and he hoped "that the member states agree".

Video: The Taurus cruise missile explained (Published in March 2024)

Baerbock: "Destroy launch bases"
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reacted with approval. The point now is "that the Ukrainians do not have to wait for the missile to fly over the border, but that the military launch bases can be destroyed from where the missile is being flown", Baerbock said on rbb Inforadio on Monday. This is within the scope of every country's right to self-defense.

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock are in favor of a Taurus delivery.

(Bild: AFP)

Their French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot said that President Emmanuel Macron had already stated that he would consider this option in order to "attack targets from which Russia is attacking Ukrainian territory". Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sees the release of weapons as the right response to the deployment of North Korean soldiers on Russia's side. Lithuania's chief diplomat Gabrielius Landsbergis called for a "new strategy for Ukraine".

Hungary and Slovakia criticize US release
Hungary and Slovakia, meanwhile, criticized the US release of long-range weapons against targets on Russian territory. Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called the decision "dangerous". Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he did not agree with the US decision at all. "This is an unprecedented escalation", Fico said in a statement.

Meanwhile, China once again urged an end to the war. "An early ceasefire and a political solution serve the interests of all parties involved," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian in Beijing on Monday. "The most urgent thing is to bring about a cooling of the situation as quickly as possible," he added.