The SPD defense politician Johannes Arlt has campaigned for concerns about the surrender of German Taurus cruise missiles demanded by Ukraine to be taken seriously. “I think that the criticism and doubts about such deliveries are far too few in the public debate,” said the member of the Bundestag on Deutschlandfunk. That’s why it’s important “to give people a voice and not just brush away these concerns.”
Above all, Arlt pointed out that the cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers could theoretically attack targets on Russian territory. That may be legitimate under international law, but he finds it very difficult when German weapons hit targets on Russian territory. “I don’t really find that acceptable.”
Over the weekend, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had once again urgently asked for the weapon system and assured that it would not be used against Russian territory. When asked if he didn’t trust Ukraine on this issue, Arlt said: “I definitely want to keep the risk as low as possible that we could cause very serious damage there with the delivery of such weapons.” However, he also thinks it is possible that the German government will decide in favor of the levy in the end.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his reservations about a delivery of Taurus cruise missiles yesterday. The SPD politician said in the ZDF “summer interview” that, as in the past, the federal government will check every single decision very carefully.
Arlt pointed out that after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Germany gave up the tradition of not supplying weapons to war zones. “We made quite a 180-degree turn, not everyone in our country feels comfortable with it.” With the consequences that such arms deliveries could have, it is very important to weigh up “what really helps and what also poses possible risks”.
