COLOGNE: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said that Berlin will not necessarily provide Kyiv with Taurus cruise missiles just because the U.S. agrees to give ATACMS long-range missiles to Ukraine, Western media reported on Tuesday.
Germany yet to decide on providing Taurus missiles
Pistorius told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to Cologne that there is no automatism in this conflict saying Germany was not in a position to decide on providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles.
Kyiv has been pressing Berlin to supply it with the missiles, which have a range of more than 500 km and can be launched by fighter jets.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has often made it clear that Berlin will only act in concert with Washington on weapon supplies to Ukraine.
Earlier Britain and France gave Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles to Ukraine which are similar to the Taurus. However, the United States has so far not sent its ATACMS to Ukraine despite Kyiv’s repeated requests.
Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff in a statement on social media said that discussions on ATACMS were moving forward without elaborating further details.
Zelenskiy in an interview with CNN said he would talk to U.S. President Joe Biden again about providing ATACMS to Ukraine, hoping that they would be received in the autumn.
