Mr. Scholz firmly refused this request from Ukraine.

Over the weekend, Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again ruled out supplying German-made long-range precision missiles to Ukraine regardless of the decision of NATO allies.

The head of the German federal government made the comments on September 14 as he answered questions at a dialogue event with citizens in the town of Prenzlau in the eastern German state of Brandenburg.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested the provision of long-range weapons so that Ukrainian forces can strike Russian military and logistics airfields far behind the front line.

Mr. Scholz said that supplying Taurus cruise missiles would entail a “major risk of escalation” to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Taurus cruise missile has a range of about 500 km (310.6 miles), which if delivered could allow Ukraine to strike targets as far away as Moscow.

“I said no to that,” Mr Scholz insisted. “And of course that also applies to other weapons that can reach such a distance.” He also stressed that the decision would remain unchanged “even if other countries decide otherwise.”

The Taurus air-to-ground cruise missile is seen in a showroom at European defence company MBDA. Photo: Getty Images

Mr Scholz's comments came after US President Joe Biden hinted that Washington could lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range Western weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.

Mr. Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks on this topic at the White House on the afternoon of September 13, but neither leader made any decision on this topic.

Also at the event in Prenzlau, Chancellor Scholz said Berlin wanted to prosecute those who carried out the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

"It was an act of terrorism," Mr Scholz said, adding that his government had called on security services and prosecutors to continue investigating the incident.

"We want to bring those who did this to trial in Germany, if we can catch them," he said. There will be "no leniency" in this case, the German chancellor declared.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea, which transport gas from Russia to Europe – landing in Germany – have been at the center of geopolitical tensions following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The explosions on September 26, 2022 caused major damage to three of the four branches of the two pipelines.

At the time of the explosions, while Nord Stream was transporting gas to Germany, Nord Stream 2 had never been operational.

In the latest development in the case, in August, Germany issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian suspect who had been living in Poland on charges of sabotaging the gas pipeline. The suspect has yet to be arrested.

Mr Scholz stressed that Russia had stopped gas supplies through the pipeline before the attack. He also said that replacing Russian gas with another source could cost Germany significantly more than 100 billion euros ($110.8 billion).

Minh Duc (According to DW)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/ong-scholz-kien-quyet-tu-choi-yeu-cau-nay-cua-ukraine-20424091516030655.htm