Efforts to bring peace to Ukraine just received a stifling blow. German Chancellor Fredrich Merz, with less than a month in office, has stepped forward to set back the US-sponsored peace initiative.
Trump wants to bring Ukraine and Russia together for a peaceful settlement of the war. He is very focused on stopping the killing in Ukraine.
But now Merz has emerged with an initiative that seems counter to that. He apparently favors supplying German Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
The general notion of giving Ukraine long-range missiles has been one of great consternation for Russia.
In September 2024 Putin said he would regard Ukraine's use of Western-supplied long-range missiles as initiating a direct fight between the supplying countries and Russia (BBC). Putin threatened dire consequences if that were to happen.
This rhetoric sounds reminiscent of President Kennedy's threat during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In an address to the nation he warned, "It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union."
Actually, the United States, Great Britain, and France have already supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine: the American ATACMS and the UK/French Storm Shadow/SCALP. The supplying countries last year had authorized their use on targets in Russia. But the missiles had insufficient range to threaten Moscow. Russia has not sought to attack those countries in retaliation.
But the German Taurus missiles have sufficient range to hit smack dab in the middle of the Kremlin, the traditional embodiment of Russia's center of power. That's what makes them a new concern.
Before his election, Merz actually promoted a Ukraine peace plan of his own. It involved the Taurus missiles. In an interview with Stern he said, "If elected, I will issue an ultimatum to Putin to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. If he does not agree, I will supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles and give permission to strike on Russian territory."
But on May 26, Ukrainska Pravda reported, "After assuming office, Merz changed his stance, stating that any decision on missiles would be made in coordination with allies." He also indicated that he preferred not to discuss specific weapons systems for Ukraine publicly.
He now seems to have changed his stance again, though. Now he's making headlines with his comments about a specific weapons system.
Why is Merz making statements that are widely inconsistent and don't always comport with the truth?
Look at this example: On May 26 DW.com reported, "German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Monday that Germany, along with France, the UK and the US, had lifted restrictions on the range of weapons being sent to Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia."
His reference to "restrictions on range" refers to the supplying country placing restrictions on how the missiles may be used in terms of range.
Merz makes it sound like these countries recently got together and made a joint decision on this, doesn't it?
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