Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) called for moderation in the traffic light coalition in the debate about military support for Ukraine. “If we now argue about how we help and whether we deliver the Taurus cruise missile, Putin can sit back. That would be the stupidest thing we could do,” the economics minister told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
In contrast to the FDP and the Greens, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) strictly rejects a Taurus delivery. The statement by SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich about freezing the war in Ukraine also triggered criticism from the other two coalition partners. “We shouldn’t suspect each other of endangering the peace. The one who endangers the peace is Putin,” said Habeck. “The dead of this war are Putin’s dead. Nobody should capitalize on the situation, and we shouldn’t presume to want to capitalize either.”
When asked whether the dispute over Taurus would continue, he said that in the end the Federal Security Council would decide and that unanimity would be necessary. “If that’s missing, we can’t deliver. By the way, I think the balancing act that the Chancellor claims is absolutely right – even if I sometimes come to different conclusions.” The disagreement over Taurus should not obscure the fact that many other points are in agreement.
The Green politician called for understanding for support for Ukraine. You do it out of your own interest. “Putin not only wants to occupy Ukraine for his imperialist Great Russian Empire, but also destabilize liberal democracy beyond Ukraine. If Putin isn’t stopped, he won’t stop.”
Baerbock: Public discussion doesn’t get us anywhere
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned against continuing the public Taurus debate. “I have commented extensively on Taurus and do not believe that the ongoing public discussion on Taurus will take us one step further,” said the Green politician of the Funke media group. Part of the Russian war propaganda serves the purpose of dividing and destabilizing Western democracies. “We cannot allow that. This is especially true when we are facing elections – like now before the European or state elections in Germany.”
Merz warns of Ukrainian defeat
CDU leader Friedrich Merz believes that Ukraine’s defeat is increasingly likely. “The danger that exactly that will happen is increasing. I see developments in Ukraine with increasing concern,” said Merz to “Welt am Sonntag”. Contrary to expectations, Russia has not yet achieved its war goals. “But: Russia has now converted its entire economy to a war economy and is producing weapons and ammunition far in excess of current requirements. This means that Russia is rearming massively, significantly more than is used in the war against Ukraine.”
Merz once again emphasized the importance of a possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles. “The Taurus cruise missiles are not a miracle weapon. But with them, Ukraine could seriously affect the supply lines for the Russian army,” said the opposition leader. This is of great importance for Ukraine’s successful self-defense.
