Taurus wiretapping affair

Pistorius: Putin wants to undermine unity

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (2nd from right) sees the Taurus wiretapping affair as part of "Putin's information war."(Bild: APA/dpa/Kay Nietfeld)

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has now also spoken out in the Taurus wiretapping affair. "This is clearly about undermining our unity (...). It is part of an information war that Putin is waging," the politician said in Berlin on Sunday.

"It's about driving our domestic politics apart." German politicians should not make the mistake of falling for Russia's President Vladimir Putin, he said. Nobody thinks that the publication of a recording of a conversation between German army officers about Taurus cruise missiles for Ukraine was a coincidence.

As reported, a Russian state broadcaster published the recording of a conversation via Webex on Friday between four German military officers about the possible deployment of Taurus cruise missiles in Ukraine. They discussed, for example, whether the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Crimean peninsula with the Russian mainland, could also be hit. Another aspect is whether Ukrainian forces can operate the weapon system on site without the help of the German Bundeswehr.

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (2nd from right) with soldiers of the German Armed Forces(Bild: APA/dpa/Kay Nietfeld)

Taurus cruise missile(Bild: AFP)

Will there be a committee of inquiry?
On Saturday, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke of a "very serious matter" that was "now being investigated very carefully, very intensively and very quickly". The Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) initiated an investigation. Pistorius said that it was about the consequences in terms of content and regulation. Personnel consequences would "definitely be far too high." However, there could be disciplinary consequences if someone had acted wrongly.

Some politicians from the CDU/CSU are now questioning Scholz's credibility, as he may have given factually incorrect reasons for his rejection of Taurus deliveries. They are demanding an explanation before the Bundestag and a committee of inquiry. The CDU/CSU has already requested a special session on the incident (see video above)

On Sunday, Pistorius was cautious about a possible committee of inquiry. However, he said that the Bundestag would certainly deal responsibly with the wiretapping scandal.