Germany's Greens would deliver Taurus missiles – DW – 11/17/2024
p.dw.com

Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is currently the Green Party’s chancellor candidate in the upcoming elections, said that if elected, he would send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked his allies for long-range weapons so that the Ukrainian military can attack Russian logistics centers and military bases far behind the front line and within Russian territory.

But until now, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has chosen not to supply Taurus cruise missiles, saying they could enable Ukraine to also hit targets in the Russian capital Moscow.

[…]

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron reacted to the Russian air barrage on Ukraine, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not want peace and is not ready to negotiate.”

“It’s clear that President Putin intends to intensify the fighting,” Macron said.

He made the remarks as he prepared to leave Argentina to attend the G20 Summit in Brazil.

[…]

The French president, however, said Ukraine’s allies “must remain united … on an agenda for genuine peace, that is to say, a peace that does not mean Ukraine’s surrender.”

Macron highlighted that his country’s priority was to “equip, support and help Ukraine to resist.”

  • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    7·
    6 days ago

    Wow, that was not a headline I was expecting to see. The sentiment has shifted quite dramatically in the past two years.

    • gigachad@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      40·
      6 days ago

      At least regarding Germany the truth is the Greens have been pushing for more weapons deliveries almost since the beginning of the war. It has been pretty clear that not delivering Taurus is because Scholz decided so.

    • barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
      18·
      6 days ago

      The Greens started out as a party of (among other things) the peace movement but quickly realised that vulgar pacifism is a) self-defeating and b) gets exploited by war mongers. In short, you gotta stand up to bullies. They very much backed the Kosovo intervention, and generally are in favour of talking softly but carrying a big stick. With friends, while singing Kumbaya, before aiming it at some genocidal maniac. In short scratch the hippie attitude now it’s metal.

    • Melchior@feddit.orgEnglish
      161·
      6 days ago

      Really? The Greens are the most hawkish party in Germany, when it comes to Russia.

      • federal reverse@feddit.orgMEnglish
        10·
        5 days ago

        Among German parties, the Greens were the most skeptical of Russia for the past ~15 years. But until the war, they were never hawkish. Only days before the war started, foreign minister Baerbock (Greens) said Germany wouldn’t deliver weapons. In late January 2022, the government then promised “5000 helmets” (although I think this may have had more to do with the chancellor than the Greens).

          • federal reverse@feddit.orgMEnglish
            4·
            5 days ago

            Reading her Wikipedia entry, it sounds like she was dismissed for being too much of a Scholz loyalist. And that kind of matches my recollection: She was careful to discuss everything with Scholz and to not cross him, whereas her [suc]cessor just took matters in his own hands and ran with it.

            According to a media report, in the discussion about the possible delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, which intensified at the end of 2022, she forbade her ministry from even recording its own stock of Leopard 2 and Leopard 1 tanks, as knowledge of deliverable stocks could potentially have put further pressure on Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. [DeepL, Wikipedia]

            In der Ende 2022 sich verstärkenden Diskussion um die mögliche Lieferung von Leopard-2-Panzern an die Ukraine verbot sie nach einem Medienbericht ihrem Ministerium, den eigenen Bestand an den Panzern Leopard 2 und Leopard 1 überhaupt zu erfassen, da Kenntnis lieferbarer Bestände möglicherweise weiteren Druck auf den Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz hätte aufbauen können.

            • CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
              4·
              5 days ago

              I remembered it wrong. She herself asked for being let go, officially because the constant discussions about her person made it impossible for her to do her job (her statement).

      • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        3·
        5 days ago

        TIL: The Green Party has been actively supporting Ukraine for quite some time. I was mostly just thinking of the general atmosphere of political discourse surrounding this topic. Remember that time when it wasn’t even clear that sending weapons is ok.