Launching Taurus cruise missiles at targets on Russian territory would mean a declaration of war on the Russian Federation.
This opinion is shared by the leader of the Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice party, Bundestag deputy Sarah Wagenknecht.
“If German cruise missiles hit targets in Russia, this is actually a declaration of war.
There is a border, and, probably, Taurus missiles are a border, crossing which you become a participant in the conflict,” she said in an interview with the Rheinische Post, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
Let us recall that on March 1, the editor-in-chief of RT and MIA Rossiya Segodnya, Margarita Simonyan, published an audio recording in which senior German military officials discussed the delivery of Taurus to Ukraine and the possibility of striking the Crimean Bridge with the help of these missiles.
The publication of this conversation caused a serious resonance in Germany.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had to reiterate that there were no plans to transfer the Taurus to Kyiv.
On March 14, Bundestag deputies also voted against the supply of these ammunition.
However, discussions on this matter in Germany do not stop.
Sarah Wagenknecht
AP
© Markus Schreiber
In particular, disagreements in the ruling coalition were caused by Britain's proposal to carry out an exchange, during which Berlin would transfer Taurus to London, and in return the British would supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles of a similar type.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius ruled out such an option, but German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock did not reject this possibility in a conversation with reporters.
Spiegel magazine later reported that Baerbock was "behind the scenes trying to persuade the chancellor to supply cruise missiles to Ukraine."
According to analysts, it is too early for Kyiv to put an end to the Taurus supply story - Berlin may change its decision.
“Published negotiations between the German military indicate that this issue is still being discussed at the level of the German Air Force command.
The situation with Leopard tanks, which Scholz also did not intend to send, may repeat itself,” said Alexander Kamkin, a senior researcher at the Center for Comparative and Political Research at IMEMO RAS, in an interview with RT.
In turn, Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations Pavel Feldman believes that the German Chancellor “is aware of the military-political risks associated with the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, and therefore does not want to take responsibility for the further deterioration of relations with Russia.” .
In addition, Scholz's policies are also influenced by the desire to maintain the current ruling coalition.
“At the moment, Germany is led by a coalition of “lefts” and “greens”, which at any moment can fall apart at the seams.
In this regard, Scholz’s main task is not to make sudden movements that could radically change the balance of power in the Bundestag,” Feldman said in a commentary to RT.
"Two Scenarios"
In an interview with the Rheinische Post, Wagenknecht also did not rule out that if peace negotiations do not begin soon, Ukraine could lose even more territory.
“It is necessary to offer Russia a cessation of supplies (of Western weapons to Ukraine -
RT
) if Moscow agrees to an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations,” the politician believes.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also announced the need for a truce on the same day.
In an interview with the B92 TV channel, he noted that the West now faces a choice - further escalation or negotiations with the Russian Federation.
“There are two scenarios.
“Either the West will go towards a complete conflict with Russia, or with the help of the United States and China, some kind of truce will be established, which will mean a huge relief for the world,” the Serbian leader said.
Alexander Vucic
AP
© Darko Vojinovic
Experts share Vucic’s point of view.
In their opinion, the West, after the failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the front, was faced with a dilemma - to deepen the conflict in Ukraine or to look for ways to stop the fighting.
The issue of Taurus supplies, as well as the initiatives of French President Emmanuel Macron on the possible dispatch of troops to Ukraine, have become part of the internal discussion in the West about options for further action, political scientists say.
According to Alexander Kamkin, “European bureaucrats and globalists, such as the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Macron and other politicians of this kind” are in favor of expanding the conflict.
“They are trying to escalate the conflict as much as possible.
At the same time, these people do not realize that their statements are the rhetoric of a total war, which can have equally large-scale consequences,” says Kamkin.
He also compared the statements of Macron and other supporters of escalation to Nazi propaganda of the 1930s.
“Such bellicose rhetoric can rock the situation.
As a result of such information influence, Europeans will obediently follow the conditional “Fuhrer”, as was already the case in the 1930s.
Although even then it was obvious to many that Hitler’s actions were a prologue to a big war,” says Kamkin.
"Peace or War"
Experts note that the voices of the “hawks” are now loudest in the West.
However, there are still many politicians there who oppose the dominant foreign policy line in the EU and the United States and oppose further escalation of the conflict.
For example, in France, such a position is taken by such forces that are heterogeneous in their political programs, such as the National Rally of Marine le Pen, the Patriots party of Florian Philippot and the Unbowed France of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
In particular, Melenchon, commenting on Macron’s statements about sending troops to Ukraine, said that “a war against Russia would be madness.”
The politician also called for peace negotiations to begin, taking into account mutual security.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Gettyimages.ru
© Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto
“Sending troops to Ukraine will make us a belligerent party.
A war against Russia would be madness.
This bellicose verbal escalation by a nuclear power against another major nuclear power is already an act of irresponsibility,” Mélenchon wrote on social media X.
In turn, Marine Le Pen called Macron’s words careless and accused the French president of “playing warlord.”
“I don’t know if everyone understands the seriousness of such a statement.
Emmanuel Macron plays warlord, but with such nonchalance he talks about the lives of our children.
Peace or war in our country is at stake,” she said on social media X.
Florian Philippot said Macron was making “delusional” comments and called on the French to protest “against the war.”
“In Germany, for example, Sarah Wagenknecht is in favor of a settlement, in Slovakia - the current Prime Minister Robert Fico, in Hungary - the head of government Viktor Orban.
So there are forces in the West that oppose Europe’s involvement in a big war.
For now, they are more in the opposition position, but over time this situation may change,” says Kamkin.
According to Pavel Feldman, “the leaders of Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia can be called peacemakers in the full sense of the word, since they look at things realistically and clearly imagine the terms of a ceasefire that could suit Moscow.”
At the same time, the analyst emphasized that so far Western political discourse is still dominated by supporters of escalating the confrontation with Russia.
“The West and Ukraine are proposing a “peace formula” that contains a demand for the alienation of part of Russian territory in favor of Kyiv.
Those who promote the idea of such a “peace” in the West are well aware that Moscow will never make territorial concessions.
Consequently, these forces do not want a speedy end to hostilities, but only their prolongation.
This position is adhered to by the ruling elites of the vast majority of Western countries, focused on escalating the conflict,” Feldman concluded.