Merz: Germany will not become a party to the conflict when supplying Taurus to Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he had discussed with Vladimir Zelensky the possibility of training Ukrainians in handling Taurus cruise missiles, but did not believe that Germany would become a party to the war if they were supplied.

"We have not yet agreed on this (training of Ukrainians). I talked about it with Zelensky, I talked about it in the (ruling) coalitions. We haven't started it yet. This is and remains an option," the Chancellor said in an interview with ARD TV channel in response to a question about whether training has already begun.

At the same time, Merz pointed out the "extreme complexity" of handling missiles, which can be mastered in at least six months.

According to the Chancellor, Germany will not become a party to the war in the event of the start of deliveries of Taurus.

"Only one thing is for sure… Germany will not become a party to the war ... It has always been clear that if we supply Taurus, these weapons will not be used by German servicemen, but by Ukrainian ones, as is the case with other cruise missiles supplied from France and the UK," he said.

The Chancellor reiterated that the German government does not intend to publicly disclose plans for arms supplies to Ukraine in order to keep Russia "in uncertainty."

In addition, he said that he was not going to follow the calls to visit Russia "in the foreseeable future," but could do so if there was an opportunity to "reasonably talk" with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a cease-fire in the Ukraine.