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Moscow awaits results of 'prompt, full and effective investigation' from Berlin on German officers' conversation recording - Peskov03:24
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Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stated that Russia was eagerly awaiting the findings of the German government's investigation into a leaked audio recording allegedly capturing a conversation between senior Bundeswehr officers discussing plans to target 'a bridge in the east' using long-range Taurus missiles. The statement was made during a press briefing on Monday.

"Mr Scholz said that there will be a prompt and full, effective investigation in this regard. We hope that we will somehow learn - I mean even through the media - what this investigation has come to," Peskov noted.

The Kremlin spokesperson emphasised that the leaked recording of the 'conversation among Bundeswehr officers' indicated that the German military establishment is 'deliberating concrete plans for launching attacks on Russian territory'.

"The recording itself suggests that particular, concrete plans to strike Russian territory are being discussed in the heart of the Bundeswehr. This does not need any legal interpretations; everything is more than obvious here," added Peskov.

On Friday, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Kerch Bridge.

"This is a real audio [in which] four Bundeswehr officers, citing, most strikingly, the experience of the Luftwaffe [German Air Force], discuss how it is possible to bomb our Crimean bridge like this and how many missiles would be enough - 10 or 20, and do it in such a way that no one understands anything and so that [German Chancellor] Scholz can continue to claim that he is not involved in the conflict and NATO is not involved in the conflict and that's not his headache," the RT's editor-in-chief said.

The audio included the claim that the UK had 'people on the ground', which the country has repeatedly denied.

According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.

The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt. Deputy Head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that it proved Germany was 'preparing for war against Russia'.

Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.

The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.

The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.

Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.

On Monday, the German ambassador to Moscow, Alexander Lambsdorff, was spotted at the Russian Foreign Ministry building. While the Russian media claimed he had been 'summoned', the German authorities denied it, saying that the meeting was a 'simple, scheduled appointment'.

Moscow awaits results of 'prompt, full and effective investigation' from Berlin on German officers' conversation recording - Peskov

Russian Federation, Moscow
March 4, 2024 at 09:34 GMT +00:00 · Published

Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stated that Russia was eagerly awaiting the findings of the German government's investigation into a leaked audio recording allegedly capturing a conversation between senior Bundeswehr officers discussing plans to target 'a bridge in the east' using long-range Taurus missiles. The statement was made during a press briefing on Monday.

"Mr Scholz said that there will be a prompt and full, effective investigation in this regard. We hope that we will somehow learn - I mean even through the media - what this investigation has come to," Peskov noted.

The Kremlin spokesperson emphasised that the leaked recording of the 'conversation among Bundeswehr officers' indicated that the German military establishment is 'deliberating concrete plans for launching attacks on Russian territory'.

"The recording itself suggests that particular, concrete plans to strike Russian territory are being discussed in the heart of the Bundeswehr. This does not need any legal interpretations; everything is more than obvious here," added Peskov.

On Friday, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Kerch Bridge.

"This is a real audio [in which] four Bundeswehr officers, citing, most strikingly, the experience of the Luftwaffe [German Air Force], discuss how it is possible to bomb our Crimean bridge like this and how many missiles would be enough - 10 or 20, and do it in such a way that no one understands anything and so that [German Chancellor] Scholz can continue to claim that he is not involved in the conflict and NATO is not involved in the conflict and that's not his headache," the RT's editor-in-chief said.

The audio included the claim that the UK had 'people on the ground', which the country has repeatedly denied.

According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.

The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt. Deputy Head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that it proved Germany was 'preparing for war against Russia'.

Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.

The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.

The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.

Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.

On Monday, the German ambassador to Moscow, Alexander Lambsdorff, was spotted at the Russian Foreign Ministry building. While the Russian media claimed he had been 'summoned', the German authorities denied it, saying that the meeting was a 'simple, scheduled appointment'.

Description

Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stated that Russia was eagerly awaiting the findings of the German government's investigation into a leaked audio recording allegedly capturing a conversation between senior Bundeswehr officers discussing plans to target 'a bridge in the east' using long-range Taurus missiles. The statement was made during a press briefing on Monday.

"Mr Scholz said that there will be a prompt and full, effective investigation in this regard. We hope that we will somehow learn - I mean even through the media - what this investigation has come to," Peskov noted.

The Kremlin spokesperson emphasised that the leaked recording of the 'conversation among Bundeswehr officers' indicated that the German military establishment is 'deliberating concrete plans for launching attacks on Russian territory'.

"The recording itself suggests that particular, concrete plans to strike Russian territory are being discussed in the heart of the Bundeswehr. This does not need any legal interpretations; everything is more than obvious here," added Peskov.

On Friday, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Kerch Bridge.

"This is a real audio [in which] four Bundeswehr officers, citing, most strikingly, the experience of the Luftwaffe [German Air Force], discuss how it is possible to bomb our Crimean bridge like this and how many missiles would be enough - 10 or 20, and do it in such a way that no one understands anything and so that [German Chancellor] Scholz can continue to claim that he is not involved in the conflict and NATO is not involved in the conflict and that's not his headache," the RT's editor-in-chief said.

The audio included the claim that the UK had 'people on the ground', which the country has repeatedly denied.

According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.

The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt. Deputy Head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that it proved Germany was 'preparing for war against Russia'.

Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.

The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.

The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.

Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.

On Monday, the German ambassador to Moscow, Alexander Lambsdorff, was spotted at the Russian Foreign Ministry building. While the Russian media claimed he had been 'summoned', the German authorities denied it, saying that the meeting was a 'simple, scheduled appointment'.

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