German minister says no political decision made on sending Taurus to Ukraine

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A high-level military call on Ukraine intercepted by Russia made clear that no political decision on sending Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv has been made, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday on a trip to Sweden.

“They always mentioned during all that phone call, there is no political decision – neither by the chancellor (Olaf Scholz) nor by me to deploy Taurus to Ukraine,” Pistorius said at a news conference.

Germany’s allies are not upset after the scandal surrounding the call recorded by the Russians, according to Pistorius. The minister said he informed his partners in Washington and London on Monday that it was an individual mistake.

“They are not angry or upset with Germany because they know that we have rules and that things like this can happen,” said Pistorius.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke in Berlin; Writing by Madeline Chambers and Maria Martinez; editing by Matthias Williams, William Maclean)