No to "Taurus" and "Yes" to long range weapons delivery for Ukraine in the Bundestag

The Bundestag has rejected the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. A motion by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, which explicitly mentioned this German weapons system, did not receive a majority today. Only 182 MPs voted in favor, 480 against and there were 5 abstentions. Parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz had previously called on SPD, Green and FDP MPs to support the CDU/CSU motion. "Ukraine is still not receiving all the material it urgently needs to effectively fend off the Russian war of aggression," he said.

In turn, the coalition of the coalition had submitted its own motion to the Bundestag. Although it also calls for the delivery of additional long-range weapon systems, the word "Taurus" does not appear. This motion was passed in the Bundestag with the votes of the SPD, Greens and FDP. 382 MPs voted in favor, 284 against and there were two abstentions.

Problem: Which systems are actually meant by this, however, is interpreted differently by the coalition factions.

For many politicians from the Greens and FDP, the term refers to "Taurus" cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers. The deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Gabriela Heinrich, on the other hand, said in the Bundestag that the wording did not necessarily mean "Taurus". "It is a question of interpretation (...). The fact is: we have not drawn a red line at this point."

Ministry of Defense Pistorius couldn't neither confirm nor deny if the term refers to Taurus. He said "I cannot say. I read the motion. .. But I am not a member of the parliamentary group." Unlike Chancellor Olaf Scholz (for example) Pistorius is a member of the government but not of the Bundestag. When asked during the debate what "the great problem with Taurus is. Nobody knows it" Scholz didn't explain.

Source

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