Posted by 
Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisted on Wednesday it would be “irresponsible” to send Germany’s Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
He told the Bundestag that the only way to deliver the missiles would be with German staff in support, a decision he said is “out of the question.”
“That is a line that I — as chancellor — do not want to cross,” he said.
However, experts have repeatedly said that German soldiers will not be required on the ground to program the missiles.
But the chancellor shows no sign of changing his mind.
“It remains central that we carefully consider every single decision,” Scholz told the Bundestag, while batting away criticism that his government does not trust Ukraine’s armed forces. “We trust Ukraine, which is why Germany is by far the largest supplier of weapons among European countries.”
The appearance before parliament comes in the wake of last week’s published leaked audio of senior German officers discussing a hypothetical decision to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Scholz’s refusal to send the Taurus is causing friction within his governing coalition, with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday calling on her government to “intensively consider” dispatching the missiles to Ukraine.
The opposition Christian Democrats are pushing for a parliamentary vote to force the issue.
The United Kingdom and France have already sent Ukraine their Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles, and the U.S. reportedly is planning to send more Army Tactical Missile Systems to Ukraine.
