Friedrich Merz, an opposition candidate for the German chancellor, said he is open to supplying Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine but under some conditions, N-TV reported on Oct. 14.
Despite providing extensive military aid to Kyiv, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been adamant in his position not to approve the supply of the Taurus missiles, citing a fear of escalation.
"I wouldn't do it just like that," Merz said on the ARD channel regarding the supply of the Taurus missiles.
At first, there should be an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop attacking civilian targets in Ukraine. If Moscow does not concede, Ukraine should be free to use already delivered weapons without restrictions, said the German opposition leader.
Merz is the parliamentary leader and chancellor candidate of the center-right CDU/CSU, which is leading the polls one year before the federal parliamentary elections. This makes him currently the most likely candidate to unseat social democrat Scholz.
"And the second step would be to supply the Taurus missiles. Then it is up to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to decide how far he wants to escalate this war," Merz said.
Taurus is a joint German-Swedish cruise missile with a range of over 500 kilometers (310 miles). It boasts a longer reach than missiles that Ukraine has received from other partners, such as the British-French-made SCALP/Storm Shadow and American ATACMS.
Merz criticized the ruling coalition for allowing Moscow to know all the details of its strategy by discussing its steps publicly. The opposition leader added that the decision on the Taurus supply should be made at the European level and that European countries should become less dependent on the U.S. regarding support for Ukraine.
While Ukraine has deployed Western long-range arms for strikes against Russian military targets within Ukrainian territory, Kyiv's partners have not permitted their use on Russian soil.
Washington and Berlin have permitted the use of certain German and American weaponry just across the Russian border to disrupt Russia's offensive operations.
Scholz has been under prolonged pressure from his opponents in the parliament and, reportedly, even coalition partners to greenlight the supply of Taurus.
The German chancellor said he would not approve their supply even if other partners decided to lift restrictions on long-range strikes in Russia.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
