The United States and Germany are currently discussing the transfer of long-range ATACMS and TAURUS missiles to Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that the way the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will use the American missiles is their business.
This follows from a statement by Blinken at a joint press conference with the head of the German Foreign Ministry, Annalena Baerbock.
Commenting on the possibility of providing ATACMS missiles, Blinken noted that a number of factors are taken into account when transferring each weapon system to Ukraine.
"The Ukrainians have to be able to use them effectively. Also, new complex systems require maintenance, and of course, we do that. They have to be able to maintain them, and that doesn't happen automatically. And then they have to fit into a coherent military program that makes sense to help Ukraine in achieving its goals," the state secretary emphasized.
He added that how the Ukrainians use these weapons is "their business."
"And they themselves should make decisions about what can be most effective in restoring their territorial integrity. In accordance with our own policy, we do not encourage and do not allow the use of our weapons systems outside of Ukraine. But again, this is Ukraine's decision." Blinken said.
In particular, Baerbock noted that possible fears about strikes on the territory of the russian federation are not an argument when considering the issue of providing Ukraine with long-range weapons since the country has the right to self-defense.
"The argument is that there are sensitive issues that need clarification, particularly for our system, the TAURUS, and it's not as simple as it might seem at first glance. That's why the federal government, the defense secretary, the chancellor, and I have spoken on many occasions about it during the last weeks, and we have made it clear again and again that we are having intensive discussions and studying what we can do," said the German minister.
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