By Oliver Towfigh Nia
BERLIN (AA) - Germany will commit itself to further large-scale arms deliveries to Ukraine at the NATO summit, a top chancellery official said on Monday.
There will be "very substantial" announcements there, the official told media representatives on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. No further details were provided.
Meanwhile, the German government remains reluctant to deliver the Taurus cruise missiles because they can also reach Russian territory.
The Taurus cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers (311 miles), the delivery of which Ukraine had requested in May, will still not be delivered. "There is no news to report as far as Taurus is concerned," the chancellery official said.
Germany is already the second most important arms supplier to Ukraine after the US. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had promised Ukraine a weapons package worth €2.7 billion ($2.95 billion) during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Berlin in mid-May. This included 20 more Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1 tanks, and 4 Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft systems.
In other related news, German government circles said the 31 member states will not invite Ukraine to join the alliance at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
"The time has not come for an invitation from Ukraine to take concrete steps toward membership," the chancellery official said.
"There is no consensus among the allies either, he added.
From a German point of view, the focus should now be on helping Ukraine in the current situation in a very concrete way.
In addition, the partnership with Ukraine would reportedly be intensified through the establishment of a NATO-Ukraine Council, which is to meet four times a year. The first session is scheduled during the Vilnius summit, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ukraine has been demanding a formal invitation to NATO for weeks. Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his participation in the summit conditional on the decision on Ukraine's accession prospects being made there.