BERLIN: Germany may agree to a swap of Taurus missiles with the UK to provide Kiev with new long-range missiles, despite German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s consistent refusal to directly supply Kiev with this weapon system, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
“The arms swap is a German invention, so to speak,” the top diplomat said during an ARD TV broadcast. “It would be an option. And we have already organized a similar exchange, but with other weapons,” she pointed out.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron told Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on March 9 that London was ready to help Berlin resolve issues related to possible deliveries of Taurus missiles to Kiev. When asked whether a “swap” was being discussed, in which London could transfer its Storm Shadow missiles to Kiev in exchange for Taurus missiles from Germany, Cameron said that the country was prepared to consider all options to maximize the impact for Ukraine, but declined to give details.
Scholz has repeatedly – most recently on March 4 – reiterated his refusal to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles. In particular, he stated that the transfer of such weapons was excluded because it would require the participation of the German military, which would be tantamount to dragging his country into the conflict. Nevertheless, the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) faction in the Bundestag will vote again this week on a resolution to supply Kiev with Taurus missiles.
