German Minister Breaks Ranks on Cruise Missiles for Ukraine
(Bloomberg) -- German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed support for Ukraine’s request for long-range Taurus cruise missiles, putting herself at odds with Chancellor Olaf Scholz who has ruled out sending the weapons over fears it could trigger direct conflict with Russia.
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Asked about the Taurus issue in an interview with Bloomberg TV in New York, Baerbock, a member of the Greens party, said Germany’s military support for Ukraine continues to focus on air-defense systems to protect critical infrastructure. With winter approaching, the need to shield Ukraine’s energy facilities is becoming increasingly urgent as Russia’s attacks intensify.
“We are a democracy, we don’t have unity in our coalition, so this is why we are not delivering Taurus,” Baerbock said. Asked if she personally backed sending the weapons, she added: “Obviously.”
While Germany is the second-biggest donor of weapons to Ukraine after the US, Social Democrat Scholz has repeatedly rebuffed pressure to supply Taurus missiles.
He argues its range of 500 kilometers (311 miles) means it could be used to strike at targets deep inside Russia, potentially drawing Germany directly into the conflict.
At the same time, the ruling coalition recently authorized the government in Kyiv to use weapons it supplied to target Russian territory and missile facilities close to the Ukrainian border.
Asked about the Taurus issue at Monday’s regular government news conference in Berlin, Scholz’s chief spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said the chancellor’s position hasn’t changed. A spokesman for the defense ministry said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who belongs to Scholz’s SPD, also remains opposed.
Baerbock blamed Russia’s war on Ukraine in part for Germany’s current budget constraints, which have forced the government to broadly rein in outlays while maintaining its pledge to meet NATO’s goal of spending 2% of gross domestic product on the military.
The governing alliance is being forced to spend “billions of our budget” which could have otherwise been invested in the modernization of the country’s manufacturing base, she said.
“But because our security is threatened, we have to invest a lot not only in supporting Ukraine, but also in our own self-defense,” she added.
--With assistance from Michael Nienaber.
(Updates with spokesmen comments in seventh paragraph.)
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