Traffic light threatens showdown
How useful is a Taurus ring exchange?
March 10, 2024, 4:54 p.m
In the dispute over the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, London sees the solution in a ring exchange. However, there is disagreement within the traffic light about the usefulness of this. Another vote in the Bundestag threatens to be a test for the government.
The traffic light coalition is facing another difficult week in the Taurus debate. Shortly before a new vote in the Bundestag, Great Britain has now responded to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s resistance to the delivery of cruise missiles to Ukraine. Foreign Minister David Cameron opened a door for the German Chancellor in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” at the weekend: his country is determined to “work closely with our German partners to help Ukraine,” he said. A barter trade that could allay Scholz’s concerns about the arms deliveries cannot be ruled out.
In a so-called ring swap, Germany would give Taurus cruise missiles to Great Britain – and London would in turn deliver further Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. Germany could thus indirectly support Ukraine without the long-range Taurus cruise missiles being delivered to the war zone. “We are prepared to look at all options to achieve the maximum effect for Ukraine,” Cameron said. But he “will not give any details and will tell our opponents what we are planning.”
Scholz rejects the delivery of the Taurus missiles with a range of 500 kilometers to Ukraine because he fears that this could drag Germany into the war. Germany “could not do what the British and French are doing in terms of targeting and accompanying targeting.” This was taken by some as a sign that Scholz did not trust the Ukrainians to use the missiles responsibly.
Court rider for ring exchange with Great Britain
Cameron dismissed concerns that the delivery could lead to an escalation of the war. It is “absolutely possible to place restrictions on the use of these weapons to ensure that they do not in any way contribute to escalation. And they do not,” he said. Great Britain trusts Ukraine’s corresponding assurances. They are satisfied with the arrangements they have made.
A Taurus ring exchange has been thought about for a long time. As early as January, there were considerations about supplying the Bundeswehr’s Taurus rockets to NATO partners such as Great Britain and France. According to media reports, Great Britain offered to give Ukraine more of its Storm Shadow missiles in return. Scholz had already resorted to barter as an indirect variant of military aid at the beginning of the Ukraine war, when he did not yet want to send Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. At that time, allies were supported with Leos in order to deliver their significantly less powerful tanks from Soviet times to Ukraine.
The Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter called for people to accept a ring exchange offer. The best solution would be a direct Taurus delivery, he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “But before Ukraine doesn’t get any more cruise missiles, exchanging rings is a possibility.” Scholz shouldn’t “stand in the way of that.”
Strack-Zimmermann: British offer “not sufficient”
The chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, does not believe exchanging rings is sufficient. It would be “only small consolation,” she said. “It would only mean that we would be handing over state-of-the-art material with the Taurus, which would then not benefit Ukraine, but rather a strong partner country like Great Britain, which would then modernize itself at the expense of the Bundeswehr.” Ukraine needs the Taurus directly. Union parliamentary group deputy Johann Wadephul made a similar statement in the “Rheinische Post”. The British system could not replace the Taurus in terms of range, precision and penetration.
The traffic light coalition is therefore divided in the Taurus debate. This is likely to become apparent next week, when the Union wants to submit another motion in the Bundestag calling on the federal government to hand over the extensive weapons system to Ukraine “immediately”. There are signs that this motion could also be supported by the FDP and the Greens. Strack-Zimmermann announced her approval – similar to a similar Union application two weeks ago. According to the “Rheinischer Post”, FDP vice-president Wolfgang Kubicki wants to make his vote dependent on the wording of the application.
The SPD defense politician Andreas Schwarz accused the Union in the “Tagesspiegel” of wanting to “use the Taurus to destroy the coalition.” Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, on the other hand, takes a calm approach to dissent. “We always had a few voices in various votes that behaved differently. The coalition can tolerate that well,” said the Green politician on Welt TV. At the same time, he advised to prevent a showdown. “We should use the days until the planned vote on Thursday wisely,” appealed Habeck. He hopes that by then there will be momentum to “quickly provide further military support” to Ukraine.
Laschet on Scholz course
Just as there are critics in the traffic lights, Scholz’s course also finds some support in the Union. Former candidate for chancellor Armin Laschet told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” and “Focus Online”: “I think the Chancellor’s fundamental position of acting carefully and prudently so as not to become a war party is correct.” The importance of Taurus deliveries for the course of the war is exaggerated. In various recent surveys, a majority of citizens surveyed expressed negative opinions on the question of whether Germany should deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Before the vote in the Bundestag, Scholz will answer questions from MPs in the government survey on Wednesday. It is to be expected that this will also be about the Taurus deliveries. The Defense Committee will meet on Monday for a special meeting on the Taurus wiretapping affair. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is scheduled to speak here.
The CDU defense expert Henning Otte expects the SPD politician to clarify whether German soldiers would be needed in the Ukraine in the event of a Taurus delivery. Otte told the “Rheinische Post” and the Bonn “General-Anzeiger” that, in contrast to Chancellor Scholz, the air force leadership had made it clear that it was not necessary to deploy German soldiers here. “So we should be able to deliver,” emphasized Otte. Pistorius must clarify this contradiction.