BERLIN, 20 September - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reiterated that Taurus cruise missiles with a range of up to 500 kilometres will not be sent to Kiev.
"Although many people are putting pressure on me, I will not deliver cruise missiles that are capable of reaching Moscow," Scholz said at a meeting with local residents in Niedergorsdorf (Brandenburg). "I can assure you, and I assure you here in this place, that I will stick to that position," added Scholz.
In addition, the Chancellor reiterated the need to look for ways to peacefully resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
"Now is the time to explore what the options are," Scholz said.
However, he does not agree that peace talks could be an alternative to German support for Ukraine. "It's naive," the German chancellor said.
Kiev has long been asking Berlin to supply Taurus cruise missiles. These have been compared to the British Storm Shadow missiles, which have already been provided to Ukraine. However, the German-Swedish missiles have a slightly longer range.
On Thursday, Germany updated the list of weapons it handed over to Kiev to include 22 Leopard 1A5 tanks with spare parts, three Gepard self-propelled air defence systems, drones and other weapons. It has also been announced that Germany plans to allocate additional short-term military aid of €397 million to Kiev.
Germany, which is the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US, has committed a total of around €28 billion in past and future military support spending to Kiev.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that the flow of weapons to Ukraine will not diminish Russia's resolve or reverse the course of the special military operation.
TASS / Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev /gnews.cz-jav_07
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