German Chancellor Merz on Taurus supplies to Ukraine: This remains an option

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that supplying Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine remains "an option" but stressed that Germany "will not become a party to the war".

Source: Interfax‑Ukraine citing Merz in an interview with the German news service Tagesschau 

Quote: "It has always been clear that, if we supply Taurus missiles, the weapons will be used not by German soldiers but by Ukrainians. The same applies to the other cruise missiles supplied by the United Kingdom or France."

Details: Merz said the Taurus system is extremely complex and training Ukrainian troops to operate it would take at least six months.

Quote: "Our problem is that this system is extraordinarily sophisticated and that it takes at least half a year to train soldiers on it. Are they already being trained? We have not yet agreed on that. I spoke to Zelenskyy about it and I have discussed it within the coalition. We have not begun. It is and remains an option."

Details: Merz emphasised that Germany would no longer announce publicly which particular weapons it is transferring to Ukraine in order not to allow Russia to gauge Western actions precisely.

Quote: "I have also said that, in future, we will no longer discuss publicly what weapons we supply or what we are doing to support Ukrainian soldiers, because I want Putin to have a certain element of uncertainty about our military actions." 

"Only one thing is absolutely clear and I repeat it here: Germany will not become a party to the war."

Previously: Merz said that he does not intend to hold telephone conversations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as previous contacts have failed to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine.

Background: 

• Merz has previously supported supplying Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. However, when the Merz government came to power in early May, it decided to limit public information on what weapons systems it would supply.
• Germany's ruling CDU/CSU bloc is increasingly calling for Taurus missiles to be provided to Ukraine.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hinted that dialogue on Taurus missiles between Ukraine and Germany is ongoing, but made it clear that all discussions are confidential and behind the scenes.

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