BERLIN, August 13 The Prime Minister of the Federal State of Germany Saxony Michael Kretschmer spoke out against the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
“I am definitely against the supply of cruise missiles,” Kretschmer said in an interview with the German magazine Spiegel.
According to him, the German government over and over again crosses the «red lines» it set itself. This happened first with the supply of Leopard tanks, now it is happening with cruise missiles. «What will follow next?» — added the prime minister.
«Are we ready to accept that German missiles will be able to strike at Russia?» — emphasized the politician. Instead, he called for «new, intense diplomatic initiatives from the free West.»
Earlier, Reuters, citing a source, reported that the German government was negotiating with the European company for the production of missile systems MBDA on the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Earlier, the T-online news portal, citing sources in the ruling SPD party, reported that Berlin would soon announce its decision on the supply of Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine. The German government has already made it clear several times that the supply of these missiles to Kyiv is not considered as a priority and without agreement with NATO partners and the United States.
The main point of contention for Taurus deliveries is the missile's range of 500 kilometers, which would violate Germany's principle not to supply weapons with such characteristics. In the German expert community, it was discussed in this context whether the missiles could be programmed in such a way that they could not be used to strike at Russian territory. According to the Spiegel publication, this is the question that Chancellor Olaf Scholz is currently interested in, and therefore negotiations are allegedly being held with representatives of the military industry.
Earlier, a member of the international affairs committee of the Bundestag of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Roderich Kiesewetter, said in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung that a parliamentary initiative covering the majority of parties is needed in order to increase pressure on Scholz on this issue. At the same time, his fellow party member and deputy Ralf Stegner said that the supporters of a quick solution to the conflict in Ukraine through the supply of weapons with an ever longer range were mistaken in many respects, since the conflict only dragged on.
According to a recent study by Forsa, two-thirds of the German population opposes the supply of these missiles to Ukraine.
Russia has previously sent a note to NATO countries over arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Kremlin stated that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov also stated that the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, including not only the supply of weapons, but also the training of personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries.