Future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed his readiness to support the transfer of long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine as part of defense assistance. About this informs Financial Times.
The German politician, who is due to take over as chancellor next month, stressed the importance of Ukraine being “on the front foot” and the need to force Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to make concessions and end the war.
Mertz condemned the Russian missile attack on Sumy, which took place on April 13, Palm Sunday. He called it a “serious war crime” and emphasized that Ukraine needs help to “advance” in the conflict. Answering a question about the possible transfer of Taurus missiles, for which Kyiv has been waiting for a long time, the politician emphasized that he is ready to make this decision under the condition of coordination with European partners.
“Our European partners are already supplying cruise missiles. The British are doing it, the French are doing it, and the Americans are still doing it.” – he noted.
Mertz also emphasized that this should be “jointly agreed upon, and if there is an agreement, then Germany should take part.” Commenting on Donald Trump’s initiative to conclude a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, the future German chancellor said that Putin will not “respond positively to weakness and peace proposals.”
Mertz noted that the shelling of Sumy, which killed at least 34 civilians and wounded 117, is “what Putin is doing to those who tell him to cease fire.” He also noted that “at some point (Putin) must recognize the hopelessness of this war, which means that we must help Ukraine.”
In his statement, Mertz not only expressed his readiness to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but also suggested the possibility of their use against such targets as the “Crimean bridge”, illegally erected by the Russian occupiers and called by Putin a “symbol of the occupation” of the Ukrainian peninsula since 2014.
