BBC:
Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky that Berlin will help Kyiv produce long-range missiles to defend itself from Russian attack.
“We want to talk about production and we will not publicly discuss details,” he said, when asked by reporters in Berlin if Germany would supply Kyiv with its Taurus missiles.
Merz took office earlier this month, promising to beef up German support for Ukraine, and said this week that there were “no longer” any range restrictions on weapons supplied by Kyiv’s Western allies.
The Taurus has a range of 500km (310 miles) and could reach deeper into Russian territory than other far-range missiles.
Although Merz did not refer to the Taurus by name during his press conference with the Ukrainian leader, he did say a “memorandum of understanding” on long-range missiles would be signed by the German and Ukrainian defence ministers later on Wednesday.
The Kremlin has warned that any decision to end range restrictions on the missiles that Ukraine can use would be a quite dangerous change in policy that would harm efforts to reach a political deal.
However, Merz has since emphasised that a decision on lifting range restrictions was taken by Western allies months ago.
The new chancellor is seeking to cut a far more assertive figure on support for Ukraine than his predecessor, Olaf Scholz.
So far, he is succeeding.
There may be many questions about the detail of Merz’s missile co-operation plan but his willingness to make big announcements that might antagonise the Kremlin stands in stark contrast to the cautious tone of the last government.
During his press conference with Zelensky, Merz promised Ukraine continued support for as long as necessary, warning Moscow that its refusal to take part in further peace talks would have “real consequences”.
Zelensky has called for talks aimed at reaching a settlement on the war to involve three leaders – “Trump-Putin-me” – although he added he was ready for any format.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not dismiss the idea out of hand but said such a meeting could only take place after “concrete agreements” had been reached between “the two delegations.”
