Coalition partners urge Scholz to change his mind on Taurus missiles for Ukraine
Partners in the German government coalition are trying to convince Chancellor Olaf Scholz to change his position on the supply of Taurus missiles for Ukraine, hoping for a positive decision.
Source: Bloomberg, with reference to informed sources, cited by European Pravda
Details: Bloomberg reported that German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Democratic Party, disagreed with Scholz's position and hoped that he would change his mind.
Another informed source told Bloomberg that Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, is sympathetic to lawmakers who support the supply of Taurus missiles to Kyiv and is annoyed by Scholz's unilateral decision.
The day before, the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) opposition bloc threatened to initiate a parliamentary investigation into Chancellor Olaf Scholz's refusal to send long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. The CDU/CSU demands to find out how Scholz came to the conclusion that supplying long-range missiles to Kyiv would risk drawing Berlin directly into a conflict with Russia and that the German military should program targets in Ukraine, after Russian intelligence released an intercepted phone call between senior German Air Force officers that contradicted Scholz’s statements.
In the intercepted conversation, the German officers stated that Taurus missiles could be launched by Ukraine without German involvement, at least under certain conditions.
On 14 March, German lawmakers are set to vote on another CDU/CSU proposal that would require Scholz to immediately send the Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Background:
- Earlier, Scholz rejected the idea of swapping missiles with the UK so that Ukraine could get more long-range weapons.
- However, Johann Wadephul, a representative of the opposition CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag, said he was against such an exchange, as he believes that Ukraine should receive specifically Taurus missiles.
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