Scholz sticks to Taurus no – outrage at accusations from Moscow
Published: Monday, Mar 4th 2024, 16:40
Updated At: Tuesday, Mar 5th 2024, 00:59
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Despite criticism from within his own coalition, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reiterated his no to the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
"I am the chancellor, and that's why this applies," he said on Monday in a Q&A session at a vocational school center in Sindelfingen, Baden-Württemberg. Scholz did not comment on the conversation between high-ranking Bundeswehr officers about Taurus, which was intercepted by Moscow, but was not asked about it in the round.
The wiretapping affair has led to calls in all political camps for a quick and comprehensive investigation. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also warned on Monday in Montenegro's capital Podgorica: "As important as it is for us as the German government to clear up this incident now, the facts are clear. And there can be no perpetrator-victim reversal here." If Russia had not brutally attacked Ukraine, it would not have to defend itself and Germany would not have to supply weapons.
On Friday, Russia published a recorded conference of four senior officers, including Air Force Chief Ingo Gerhartz. In it, they discussed deployment scenarios for the German cruise missile if it were to be delivered to Ukraine after all. They also discussed the possible destruction of the bridge built by Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in violation of international law. The officers came to the conclusion that an early delivery and rapid deployment would only be possible with the participation of German soldiers - and that it would take months to train Ukrainian soldiers to deploy the Taurus on their own.
However, it can also be heard in the recording that there is no green light at a political level for the delivery of the cruise missiles demanded by Kiev. Chancellor Scholz justified his refusal by saying that Germany could then be drawn into the war. Taurus has a range of 500 kilometers and can therefore also hit targets in Moscow from the Ukraine. Unlike the Chancellor, his coalition partners FDP and the Greens are in favor of supplying this weapon system, as are the Christian Democrats in the opposition.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated on Sunday that he expected the results of the internal review of the incident in the first few days of this week. The Kremlin sharply criticized the officers' conversation and demanded more information. "We hope that we will somehow find out, if possible even through the media, what conclusion the investigation has come to," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency on Monday. He called the content of the conversation proof of the direct involvement of Western states in the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine. The recording shows that the Bundeswehr is planning concrete strikes against Russian territory.
There had already been similar accusations from Moscow at the weekend. This is "absurd, infamous Russian propaganda", said the deputy spokesperson of the German government, Wolfgang Büchner, in Berlin on Monday. Moscow wants to divide society in Germany and Europe, he said. "Nobody should play Putin's game."
A conversation between German Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorff and the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow caused confusion on Monday. The Russian state news agency Tass reported that it was an appointment due to the published conference recording. Kremlin spokesman Peskov also made the same statement.
Lambsdorff, however, emphasized that this was not an invitation. "There was an invitation to talk about various bilateral issues," he told the German Press Agency in Moscow. The meeting had already been planned before the wiretapped conversation was made public.
©Keystone/SDA
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