German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius once again spoke out against the transfer of Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.
At the same time, the minister did not rule out that in the future Germany could provide the required weapons to Ukraine.
It is reported by TASS.
What Pistorius said about deliveries of Taurus to Ukraine
Pistorius noted that Germany is not the only one that does not supply these cruise missiles to Ukraine.
The head of the German defense department cited the United States as an example.
Our American allies are also not supplying these cruise missiles. Ours have a special range, – the minister told reporters in Bad Reichenhall.
According to Pistorius, the transfer of long-range missiles to Ukraine is not a top priority.
We remain of the view that this is not our top priority right now – said the head of the German Defense Ministry, noting that concerns about the transfer of such missiles are obvious.
At the same time, he did not rule out that in the future the FRG could provide the required weapons to Ukraine.
The time has not yet come for us to make a decision, Pistorius said.
According to him, Germany’s top priority is training support, armored and engineering equipment and air defense.
We do not see the need to make urgent decisions on another issue, the minister summed up.
Recall that at the end of May, Ukraine requested from Germany Taurus cruise missiles with a range of up to 500 km.
According to the German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed this issue with German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz during a visit to Germany on May 14.
According to sources of the publication, Ukraine would like to urgently receive these missiles.
Within the ruling coalition of parties in Germany, there are different points of view on the transfer of cruise missiles to Ukraine.
The German-Swedish Taurus missiles are similar to the British Storm Shadow, but they have a slightly longer range.
10 years ago, Germany purchased about 600 such missiles for its army, about 150 of them are ready for operation.
