Allies lift Ukraine's restrictions on long-range weapons, says Merz
Western allies are not imposing any range restrictions on the use of long-range weapons delivered to Ukraine against Russian military targets, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday.
Merz pointed out that the restrictions have been lifted not only on German weapons.
'There are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine, neither by the UK, France, nor us. There are no restrictions by the US either," he said during a discussion forum organised by the WDR channel.
He stated that Ukraine can now "defend itself, for example, by attacking military facilities in Russia."
"Until recently, it couldn't do that, and apart from very few exceptions, it hadn't done so either."
The German chancellor stressed that while Kyiv is using its weapons to target Russian military infrastructure, Russia continues to attack Ukrainian "cities, kindergartens, hospitals, and care homes".
'Russia attacks civilian targets completely ruthlessly, bombing cities, kindergartens, hospitals and old people's homes - Ukraine doesn't do that.'
Merz also revealed that this was one of the reasons for his visit to Kyiv together with the leaders of France, the UK and Poland on 10 May. During that visit to Ukraine's capital, he also said that all future arms supply talks with Ukraine would be kept confidential.
In the past Ukraine received long-range missiles from the US, the UK and France, but was only allowed to use them against Russian military forces in occupied Ukrainian territories.
As for Berlin, before coming into office, Merz signalled he would cancel the ban of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, on delivering Germany's Taurus cruise missiles, capable of striking targets at a range of 500 kilometres.
Speaking on Monday, the German chancellor said, 'Nobody can now reproach us for not having exhausted all the diplomatic means available to us.'
Lifting the restrictions on the use of long-range weapons will make "the decisive difference in Ukraine's warfare," Merz explained, adding that "a country that can only oppose an attacker on its own territory is not defending itself adequately."
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Monday shot down the idea of a tripartite meeting between himself, Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and UN envoy María Angela Holguín.
Following a meeting with Holguín, Tatar lashed out at the authorities of the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus over recent arrests of individuals suspected of selling Greek Cypriot-owned property in the Turkish-occupied north.
Referring to the arrests as "terrorist activies", Tatar said he had told Holguín during their meeting in Cyprus that "there was no need for a tripartite meeting."
"I said that a meeting with Christodoulides could not be held in such an environment, that there was discomfort on the issue of property, and that it would not be right to create such an environment without resolving these issues,' Tatar told public broadcaster CyBC.
The island nation of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded following a coup backed by the Greek junta, which aimed at a union with Greece. The Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island's northern third is recognised only by Turkey, which maintains around 35,000 troops there.
The Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, but only the Greek Cypriot south, where the island's internationally recognised government is based, enjoys full benefits.
A spate of recent arrests targeted people over the illegal development of property in the north which is owned by Greek Cypriot refugees, who fled south during the 1974 invasion. Two Hungarian nationals were the first to be sentenced to prison over the issue earlier this month.
Tatar asked Holguín to convey his position to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, adding that "All this must stop," as "the real victims are the Turkish Cypriot people."
Christodoulides had met with Holguín on Saturday, after which he indicated the Republic of Cyprus would be "here to respond" in the event of a positive response from Tatar.
Referring to the latter's comments on Monday, the Cypriot president said he was "saddened".
He insisted that the judiciary was responsible for the arrests, saying "the executive authority of does not interfere in the judicial authority under any circumstances."
He also reiterated previous comments that "it would be good for the three of us to sit around a table to discuss and have a free discussion so that we can get closer to the goal of July, so that there are positive developments," adding that he would "definitely" be holding a new meeting with Holguín.
Christodoulides added that Holguín's meetings outside Cyprus and especially Turkey would be "decisive". The UN envoy is also scheduled to visit Greece, the UK and Brussels.
Christodoulides and Tatar last met in Geneva in mid-March, after which a series of modest confidence-building measures were announced.
Guterres announced a similar meeting is to be held at the end of July. He appointed Holguín as his personal envoy on Cyprus in early May. She had previously been in the same role between January and July 2024.
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