< span>The candidate for the post of Chancellor of Germany from the opposition conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) Friedrich Merz believes that supplying Ukraine with long-range Taurus cruise missiles would not be tantamount to drawing Germany into a conflict. reported TASS.
„Taurus delivery is anything but going to war. By the way, the leader of the party "Union of Sarah Wagenknecht - for reason and justice" knows this”, said Mertz in an interview with the TV channel ARD. "The British supply of cruise missiles, the French supply of cruise missiles - did Mrs. Wagenknecht ever claim that this was Britain and France entering the war? “This is really nonsense,” said the politician.
According to him, it is about effective deterrence.
At the same time, Merz expressed the opinion that Wagenknecht did not want to enter the government and accused her of alleged pro-Russian views.
Earlier, Wagenknecht called on regional branches of the Christian Democratic Union to distance themselves from CDU leader Friedrich Merz's statements about Russia. On October 16, Mertz, speaking in parliament, called for a tougher course toward Moscow. Last weekend, he reiterated his stance, calling for the lifting of restrictions on the use of Western weapons. In Thuringia, Wagenknecht's party previously announced its readiness for coalition talks with the CDU and the Social Democratic Party of Germany, but on the condition that a compromise is reached on her party's demands regarding the conflict in Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly rejected the possibility of transferring Taurus cruise missiles, which have a range of about 500 km, to Kiev. The head of the German government said that the delivery of such weapons systems would lead to a “serious risk of escalation”. Kyiv has been asking Berlin for such missiles for a long time. They are considered an analogue of the British Storm Shadow, which have already been delivered to Ukraine. However, the range of German-Swedish missiles is greater.