Germany's Scholz rules out long-range weapons for Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday ruled out the delivery of long-range precision to Ukraine in the future regardless of decisions made by NATO allies.

He made the comments while responding to questions at a citizen's dialogue event in the town of Prenzlau in Germany's eastern state of Brandenburg.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been requesting long-range weapons so that Ukrainian forces can attack Russian logistics and military airfields far behind the front line..

Scholz warns of 'risk of escalation' of war

Scholz said that the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles would entail "a great risk of escalation" of the Ukraine conflict.

Taurus cruise missiles have a range of around 500 kilometers (310,6 miles), which would allow Ukraine to strike targets in Moscow.

"I said no to that," Scholz asserted. "And of course that also applies to other weapons, if we had supplied them, which could reach this long distance."

"That remains the case," Scholz said, adding that this would not change "even if other countries decide differently."

Scholz's comments come after US President Joe Biden hinted that Washington could lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range Western weapons to hit sites within Russian territory..

President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks on the topic at the White House on Friday afternoon, but the pair did not signal any decision on the topic.

Scholz wants perpetrators of Nord Stream sabotage 'in court'

At the same event in Prenzlau, Scholz said that Berlin seeks to prosecute the perpretrators of an attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

"That was a terroristic act," Scholz said, adding that his government had called on security authorities and public prosecutors to continue investigatiosn into the incident.

"We want to bring those who did this, if we can get a hold of them, to court in Germany," he said, adding that there would be no "leniency" in this case.

The Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany were blown up in autumn of 2022.

In August, Germany issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian suspect that had been living in Poland in connection with the case. The suspect has not been arrested.

Scholz stressed that Russia had already stopped gas deliveries through the pipeline before the attack. He said that replacing Russian gas with other source shad cost Germany substantially more than €100 billion ($110.8 billion).

sdi/rm (dpa, Reuters)