Germany will allow Poland to hand over Leopard armored vehicles to Ukraine, which has been pushing to receive them, if Warsaw requests such authorization, German diplomacy chief Annalena Baerbock announced Sunday.
“If they ask us, we will not oppose”said the minister of the Alianza 90/Os Verdes party, which governs in coalition with Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, referring to the delivery of German-made armored vehicles to kyiv.
“For the moment, the request has not been made” by Poland, which officially has to do so in Berlin, said the minister, interviewed in Paris by the French channel LCI.
The German government is under increasing pressure to supply Ukraine with heavy leopard armor, which could have a significant battlefield impact against Russian troops.
“I understand the importance of these tanks, we are fully aware of that,” Baerbock said.
Poland and Finland have offered to hand over the Leopard tanks they have, but need official approval from Berlin for such re-export.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to comment on the possibility of indirect deliveries, as well as on the question of direct supply of Leopard armored vehicles belonging to German ‘stocks’.
Asked about the issue in Paris today at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, the foreign minister was evasive, reiterating the need to act in consultation with Ukraine’s allies on arms delivery issues.
Emmanuel Macron also admitted today the sending of French Leclerc tanks to Ukraine, demanding, however, that three conditions be met: that it does not lead to an escalation of the conflict, that there are Ukrainian soldiers in a position to use them and that it does not affect defense capabilities. French.
The French leader said coordination work to decide what to do with Ukraine’s requests to the West for heavy main battle tanks will continue “in the coming days and weeks” with other allies, including Germany.
The German chancellor, for her part, expressed complete agreement between her country and France in their willingness to provide Ukraine with “all the necessary support”, whenever “it is necessary” and “with the means that are necessary”, either financial, humanitarian or armament.
“The common objective is for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine,” said the German leader in statements made with the French president after the Council of Ministers, and in the context of Ukraine’s pressure on Berlin to send German tanks “Leopard2” .
It is not the first time that Green government ministers, particularly Baerbock, have taken a more proactive line than the chancellor on the issue of military support for Ukraine.
In recent weeks, several green figures have urged Olaf Scholz to approve the delivery of tanks to kyiv.
In a meeting last Friday at the US military base in Ramstein, Germany, Ukraine’s Western allies postponed any decision on the matter, angering kyiv, which criticized the “indecision”.
Source: TSF
