Scholz still worried that sending Taurus missiles to Kyiv may lead to escalation of war

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again stated that his government has not yet decided on supplying long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, as it has been trying to prevent the war "escalation".

Source: Politico, citing Scholz during a press conference on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain

Details: When journalists on 5 October asked Scholz why he does not want to send cruise missiles to Ukraine, the chancellor said such a decision can be made only after "careful consideration".

"After all, when a war lasts so long, these considerations can’t stop at once," Scholz said, adding that his government "must always take into account what the constitution requires of us and what our options for action are".

"This includes in particular the fact that we must of course ensure that there is no escalation of the war and that Germany does not become part of the conflict. It is also my task as chancellor to ensure that," the German Chancellor said.

Scholz did not specify which potential constitutional restrictions he was referring to. Bild previously reported that the chancellor was concerned that Berlin would have to provide Russian targets geodata for Ukraine to use Taurus missiles. Thus, according to the chancellor, Germany would be forced to take a more active part in the war.

Scholz is also concerned that Ukraine could use missiles to destroy the Kerch Bridge connecting occupied Crimea with Russia.

At the same time, Scholz repeatedly emphasised during his press conference on Thursday, 5 October, how "very far-reaching" but also "very effective" his decision to supply Ukraine with another Patriot air defence system is.

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