The FDP parliamentary group is not giving up on its demand for Taurus cruise missiles to be delivered to Ukraine and is also seeking talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). “The FDP’s position is clear: We believe the delivery of Taurus to Ukraine is necessary,” said the First Parliamentary Managing Director of the FDP parliamentary group, Johannes Vogel, to the “Tagesspiegel”.
Since the condition mentioned by Scholz for the Taurus delivery – no operation by German soldiers – can be “objectively met”, he would very much like “that the Chancellery will quickly come to a different assessment of the situation than before,” said Vogel. It is not the Bundestag that decides on the delivery of Taurus, but ultimately the government alone. “That’s why we as the FDP parliamentary group will talk to the Chancellor about the issue,” announced Vogel.
Scholz strictly rejects supplying the weapon system to Ukraine. The Union failed again in the Bundestag with its application to deliver Taurus to Ukraine. However, the FDP MPs Wolfgang Kubicki and Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann voted in favor of the CDU/CSU proposal. The SPD and the Greens voted unanimously against it. Nevertheless, there are numerous members of the FDP and Greens who are in favor of Taurus delivery.
Excitement about Mützenich’s statement
At the same time, Vogel strictly rejected public speculation by SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich about “freezing” the war in Ukraine. “It is completely inappropriate to talk about “freezing” the conflict,” said Vogel. Mützenich asked in the Taurus debate on Thursday: “Isn’t it time that we not only talk about how to fight a war, but also think about how we can freeze a war and end it later?”
The Greens had also criticized Mützenich for his choice of words. Green party co-leader Ricarda Lang spoke on Friday on Welt TV about a “backsliding into the social democracy’s old Russia policy.” She actually assumed that the SPD had moved away from its “often naive appeasement policy towards Russia”. The SPD member of the Bundestag Ralf Stegner defended his parliamentary group leader. Mützenich is the first who dares to say publicly that he is thinking about the fact that this war will end, and not about how it will be fought and whether it may or may not be won.