German opposition leader Merz proposes to give Putin ultimatum, and in case of failure to comply - to give Ukraine Taurus

The head of the Christian Democratic Union and candidate for the German chancellorship from the opposition CDU/CSU bloc, Friedrich Merz, proposed that the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz issue an ultimatum to Russia to stop bombing civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, and in case of Russia's failure to comply with it, to transfer long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv.
Merz said this during a speech in the Bundestag on Wednesday, where Scholz represented the government's position before the EU summit in Brussels, European Pravda writes, Censor.NET reports.
Merz believes that diplomatic negotiations with Russian dictator Putin should not be conducted, as they only lead to new crimes of the Russian Federation.
According to the German politician, the so-called "peace mission" of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Moscow, after which Russia shelled Ukraine's largest children's hospital, Okhmatdyt, was proof of this.
He accused Scholz of being personally responsible for the fact that Ukraine had to fight Russia "with one hand tied behind its back." The CDU leader suggested that Scholz issue an ultimatum to Putin to stop the bombing of Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and discuss its content at the EU summit with his European counterparts on Thursday, October 17.
If Russia fails to comply, Mertz proposes to lift restrictions on use of long-range weapons for Ukraine and transfer Taurus missiles.
"This cannot go on like this. If Putin does not accept this, then the next step must follow and he must be told: if he does not stop bombing civilians in Ukraine within 24 hours, then Germany must send Taurus missiles to destroy the supply lines that this regime uses to harm the civilian population of Ukraine," the German politician said.
In addition, Merz urged not to be afraid of Putin's nuclear threats, as fear, in his words, is "the mother of all cruelty."
"Mr. Chancellor, it's time for us to overcome our fear of Putin to finally stop the brutality in Ukraine together... In 2014, we already made a wrong assessment of the situation, in 2024 we must not make a wrong assessment again," Merz said.
He added that "the price of a mistake will be very high."