Boris Pistorius did not rule out that in the future Berlin may provide the required weapons to Kiev
BERLIN, August 3. /tass/. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has again spoken out against the supply of long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
"We are still of the opinion that this is not our top priority right now," Pistorius told reporters in Bad Reichenhall (federal state of Bavaria). At the same time, he added that concerns about the transfer of missiles are obvious. "We are not the only ones who do not deliver. Our American allies also do not supply these cruise missiles. Ours have a special range," the minister said.
However, Pistorius did not rule out that in the future Germany may provide the required weapons to Kiev. "The time has not yet come for us to make a decision," the head of the German Defense Ministry said. According to him, the main priority and competence of the Federal Republic of Germany are air defense, training support, engineering and armored vehicles. "For this reason, at present we do not see the need to make urgent decisions on another issue," the minister concluded.
At the end of May, Kiev requested Taurus cruise missiles with a range of up to 500 km from Berlin. Sources of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the issue of transferring Taurus with Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a visit to Berlin on May 14. According to them, Kiev "would like to receive them urgently." Within the parties that are part of the ruling coalition in Germany, there are different points of view on the supply of cruise missiles to Ukraine.
10 years ago, about 600 Taurus missiles were purchased for the Bundeswehr, of which about 150 are ready for operation. Taurus are considered an analogue of the British Storm Shadow, which have already been delivered to Ukraine. However, the range of the German-Swedish missiles is slightly longer.
