As of: February 22, 2024, 4:18 p.m
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Germany will continue not to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
© Andrea Bienert/Bundeswehr/dpa
Guesswork in the Bundestag: The traffic light coalition is calling on the government to supply additional long-range weapons.
However, how this is to be understood remains open.
Berlin - The Bundestag, with the votes of the traffic light coalition, has called on the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to provide Ukraine with additional “long-range weapon systems” for the defense against Russia.
However, it remained unclear whether this meant the Taurus cruise missile, which is characterized by high accuracy and a range of 500 kilometers.
The Greens and the FDP largely understand the coalition's motion on the war in Ukraine to be this way, while the SPD sees it as “not necessarily”.
A CDU/CSU motion in which Taurus is explicitly mentioned did not find a majority in the Bundestag.
Chancellor Scholz had already announced on Wednesday through his government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit that he currently does not intend to deliver the rockets.
He himself hasn't even spoken the word "Taurus" lately.
But the discussion is likely to continue.
Klitschko: Taurus delivery “one of the most important questions”
Ukraine is urgently asking for the missiles with which it wants to cut off supplies for the Russian troops at the front.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko told the German Press Agency that this was “one of the most important questions” for Ukraine.
“We are defending our country.
And that's why we need Taurus.
We can use this to destroy the Russian military logistics.” He expects a positive decision from the federal government.
The government in Kiev had already requested the Taurus cruise missiles from the federal government in May last year.
In October, Chancellor Scholz temporarily rejected a delivery.
The underlying fear is that the missiles could hit Russian territory, which would potentially drag Germany into the conflict.
SPD did not want Taurus in the application
The three traffic light factions had struggled for a long time over the wording about Taurus in their proposal for two years of Russian invasion of Ukraine and ten years of Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
The SPD ultimately prevented the cruise missiles from being explicitly named.
The FDP and the Greens would have been in favor of it.
382 MPs voted for the motion and 284 against it. There were 2 abstentions.
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As a compromise formula, the delivery of “additionally required long-range weapon systems” is now required.
This is justified as follows: “In particular, Ukraine must continue to be in a position to carry out attacks on military targets such as ammunition depots, supply routes and command posts far behind the front lines and to be able to protect its soldiers as best as possible from the diverse attacks of the Russian military. “
FDP politician Strack-Zimmermann agrees to the Union's proposal
In response to the coalition's reluctance, the Union submitted its own proposal that explicitly calls for the delivery of Taurus.
This was rejected by a majority of the Bundestag (182 yes, 480 no, 5 abstentions).
However, FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann agreed - an unusual occurrence.
Normally, coalition MPs generally reject opposition proposals.
“I don’t want to one day be accused of not doing the right thing at the right moment,” said Strack-Zimmermann, explaining her decision.
Pistorius: “I can’t answer that”
The Union repeatedly asked coalition speakers in the Bundestag whether the formulation of the additionally required long-range weapon systems also meant Taurus.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also had to put up with this question.
“I can’t answer that,” said the SPD politician.
“I have read the application.
The applicants will have thought about their part.
(…) I am not a member of the parliamentary group.” Unlike Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for example, Pistorius is a member of the government, but not of the Bundestag.
The deputy parliamentary group leader Gabriela Heinrich said on behalf of the SPD that the wording “does not necessarily” mean Taurus.
“It is a question of interpretation (...).
The fact is: We have not drawn a red line at this point.”
Merz pushes for Taurus delivery
CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz urgently appealed to the coalition to provide Ukraine with what it needs for its defense.
“Ukraine continues to not receive the full amount of material it urgently needs to effectively deter Russia’s war of aggression,” he said.
The CDU defense politician Johann David Wadephul called on the Chancellor to finally say what the big problem with the Taurus delivery was.
"Nobody knows.
We have not received a rational explanation for this.” However, the public, Ukraine and the Bundestag have a right to know this.
dpa