As of: February 18, 2024, 5:08 a.m
Comments
Press
Split
“The fact that you don’t hear a clear no is an answer in itself,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
© Denes Erdos/AP/dpa
Almost two years after the Russian attack, the war in Ukraine dominated many debates at the Munich Security Conference.
In the end, the situation in the Middle East once again takes center stage.
Munich - The Ukrainian government expects that the federal government will still decide to supply Taurus cruise missiles to the country that was attacked by Russia almost two years ago.
“The fact that you don’t hear a clear no is an answer in itself,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
“We always trust that such problems will be solved at some point, because that is what life has taught us in the last two years.” At the end of the 60th Security Conference in Munich, the focus will once again be on the war in the Gaza Strip today.
Hoping for the Leopard Principle
Every discussion about arms deliveries started with a no, Kuleba said, given previous debates about the delivery of new quality German weapons.
Before the federal government approved the export of Leopard battle tanks, it also hesitated for a long time.
The Ukrainian government officially requested the Taurus cruise missile with a range of 500 kilometers and high accuracy from Germany last May in order to be able to hit military targets far behind the front line.
In October, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said that Germany would not deliver Taurus for the time being.
Behind this are fears that the missiles could hit Russian territory.
At the Munich Security Conference, Scholz avoided the question of whether he might still want to release it.
In an interview after his speech, he simply assured that Germany would always do enough to support Ukraine.
Kuleba relies on Germany’s commitment
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister justified his hope for the Taurus delivery by saying that Germany's commitment is currently increasing significantly.
This was also shown by President Volodymyr Selenskyj's visit to Scholz in Berlin.
A long-term security agreement was signed there and a new weapons package was approved.
“I think the driving force behind this commitment is the recognition that Europe needs to take more responsibility for what happens in Europe,” added the Ukrainian.
Ukraine wants to meet logistics and supplies with Taurus
Kuleba emphasized the importance of these weapons.
“There is only one way to destroy Russian capabilities in Ukraine.
You have to hit them deep in the occupied areas.” Taurus, together with the American Atacms missiles, is the most modern weapon capable of doing this.
“If you want to strike behind the lines, disrupt their logistics and supplies, destroy their ammunition depots, you can only do that with long-range missiles.”
According to a survey, only one in seven Germans believes that Ukraine will win the war.
For the survey carried out by the opinion research institute Insa on behalf of “Bild am Sonntag”, 1004 people were surveyed on February 14th and 15th.
Accordingly, 14 percent answered that they believed in a Ukrainian victory, which corresponds to a decrease of 6 percentage points year-on-year.
More than one in four (26 percent, +9 points) believe that Russia will win, 47 percent (-1) believe that neither will win.
Israeli-Palestinian relations
At the end of the 60th Security Conference in Munich, the war in the Gaza Strip is once again in focus.
In the morning (9:30 a.m.), Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtaje wants to take part in a panel discussion in this context together with former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.
Herzog: Peace solution only as part of a comprehensive agreement
Israeli President Izchak Herzog believes that a peace solution with the Palestinians is only realistic as part of a comprehensive agreement with other states in the region.
When asked about whether a Palestinian state was still possible, he said at the security conference on Saturday evening: "It won't happen if we don't find real solutions to the question of Israel's security."
Currently, a Palestinian state seems like a reward for the war that Hamas started against Israel, said Herzog.
Addressing Iran, he said: "If we want to win and demonstrate victory over the evil empire and its proxies, we must move towards Israel's involvement in the region - with a major agreement with our regional partners, including Saudi Arabia. Arabia.
In this we must find the right formula for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
The EU and Ukraine
But Ukraine also plays a role on the final day.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanischyna and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis are expected to take part in a discussion about European performance with a view to the war in Ukraine.
At another event, EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina and FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also want to talk about the EU's geopolitical agenda.
dpa