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Scholz during visit to Kiev declares commitment to decision not to supply Taurus

"This decision is related to the range of the missiles and the need to control the choice of targets," Olaf Scholz explained

BERLIN, December 2. /TASS/. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he is committed to his decision not to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

"As far as individual combat systems are concerned, we have a certain opinion as to whether it is right that they will be at [Kiev's] disposal or not," Scholz said in Kiev at a joint news conference with Vladimir Zelensky. The broadcast was carried by the NTV television channel. "This [decision] is related to the range [of the missiles] and the need to control the choice of targets," Scholz explained.

Kiev has long been asking Berlin for the Taurus system. It is a counterpart of the British Storm Shadow, which have already been delivered to Ukraine. However, the range of the German-Swedish missiles is longer - about 500 kilometers. Scholz has repeatedly dismissed the possibility of supplying the Taurus to Ukraine and said that the transfer of such weapons systems would entail a serious risk of escalation of the conflict.

The debate on the need to supply Taurus has flared up in Germany with renewed force following the US decision to approve strikes from Ukraine deep into Russia’s interior with ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles.

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