The leader of the largest opposition party in the Bundestag, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, proposes a "gradual" transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, against which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is categorically opposed.
This was stated by the politician, who will run for the position of head of government in the next parliamentary elections, during a talk show on the ARD television channel.
"I wouldn't do it so easily. I would say: if the bombings do not stop, the first step will be to lift the restrictions on the range of the weapon, and the second step will be the delivery of Taurus. Then it will depend on Putin how far he wants to escalate this war," Merz said.
He also expressed the opinion that the decision to supply Taurus should be made at the European level.
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The leader of the conservatives also criticized Scholz's government for a lack of strategic vision regarding policies towards Ukraine.
Merz promised that during the upcoming elections (scheduled for September 2025), he would advocate for increased military spending, as Germany and Europe in general need to become more independent in ensuring their own security from the U.S.
"Currently, Russia is arming itself to such an extent that in five to eight years it will be able to attack NATO territory," Merz warned and added that Germany and the West were wrong to think that Putin would not invade Ukraine.
Ukraine appealed to Berlin for cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers back in May 2023, but Chancellor Scholz categorically rejected this idea, despite calls from many politicians to do so. He justified his decision by citing the danger of drawing Germany and NATO into the war.
