BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) – In the debate about a possible delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg referred to Ukraine’s right to self-defense. “We must remember what is happening here: This is a war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine, and Ukraine has the right to self-defense enshrined in the United Nations Charter,” Stoltenberg said on Monday on the sidelines of a ceremony to admit Sweden into the NATO. This means that NATO states have the right to help Ukraine protect its right to self-defense.
He welcomes the fact that several allies are already supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons systems. He cited the provision of Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles by Great Britain and France as examples.
At the same time, Stoltenberg praised the Federal Republic’s contribution to date in supporting Ukraine and referred, for example, to the delivery of air defense systems and battle tanks. Germany is a leading nation when it comes to military support, said the Norwegian.
The possible delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine has been discussed in Germany for months. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has so far rejected this because he fears that Germany could be drawn into the war through the use of Taurus missiles with a range of 500 kilometers.
Leading politicians from the CDU and CSU are now calling on members of the traffic light coalition to show their colors when voting on a Union proposal to supply Taurus cruise missiles. “Large parts of the coalition, especially the Greens and the FDP, are in favor. And I simply expect that they will also show their colors here in the German Bundestag this week,” said CDU Bundestag member Jens Spahn on Monday when he arrived at a joint meeting of the Presidiums of the CDU and CSU on the Union’s European election program in Berlin. “Ukraine no longer has time to wait for these traffic light games,” he added.
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