BERLIN (Reuters) -British foreign minister David Cameron said on Thursday there was “incredible unity” between NATO allies when asked about an intercepted online call between senior German military officials about Ukraine which included details of British operations.
The recording was published by Russian media last week and included discussion about Germany supplying long-range Taurus missile systems to Ukraine, exposing a highly political and sensitive internal debate about the extent of Berlin’s support.
Speaking in Berlin, Cameron declined to publicly pressure his German counterpart over the supply of Taurus missiles, but said it was clear Britain’s decision to send its own long-range missiles to Ukraine had made a real difference in the war.
However, Cameron rejected any attempt by Russia to sow discord among Western states after the Kremlin said the leaks showed Germany’s armed forces were discussing plans to launch strikes on Russian territory.
“I don’t want to play into the hands of some Russian narrative about divisions between allies,” Cameron said at a joint press conference with German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, when asked about the intercepted call.
“What I see … is incredible unity between allies, incredible unity in NATO.”
Germany’s Taurus missiles can travel twice as far as the Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles supplied so far by Britain and France, and would thus enable Ukraine to even reach as far as Moscow.
Asked whether Britain was pushing Germany to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, Cameron said:
“I can only speak for Britain’s experience of how effective these weapons have been at helping Ukraine to fight off this illegal aggression.”
(Reporting by Muvija M, writing by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper and Hugh Lawson)
