"It would be an option": German Foreign Minister is open to exchange of Taurus to arm Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock is open to the UK's proposal to provide Ukraine with new cruise missiles, which suggests that Germany could provide Taurus missiles to the UK in exchange for the UK supplying Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock is open to the proposal of her British counterpart David Cameron to provide Ukraine with new cruise missiles through a circular exchange, the German edition Der Spiegel reports, according to UNN.
She noted that such a circular exchange had already taken place with other materials.
Circular exchange was, so to speak, a German invention. That would be an option. And we did it some time ago with another material
Addendum
According to the publication, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has already resorted to barter as an indirect option for military assistance at the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine, when he did not want to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.
In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Cameron expressed his intention to "work closely with our German partners to help Ukraine." Cameron also considers a circular exchange possible, which may allay Scholz's concerns. Scholz rejects the delivery of Taurus missiles with a range of 500 kilometers to Ukraine, as he fears that it could draw Germany into a war.
"We are prepared to look at all options to maximize the effect for Ukraine," Cameron said, but he "will not give any details and tell our opponents what we plan to do.
In a circular exchange, Germany could give the UK Taurus cruise missiles, and London, in turn, could supply Ukraine with new Storm Shadow missiles. The Storm Shadow and Taurus weapons are similar in design, but not identical, the newspaper points out.
