Berlin indicated that “no decision has been made” on the subject after the eighth meeting of the Allied countries of kyiv, which was held on Friday in Ramstein, Germany.
by Cédric Pietratunga and Thomas Wieder (Berlin, correspondent)
While strong pressure has been exercising for several days on Germany, to convince her to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, or at least allow third countries to do so, Berlin said that ‘”No decision was made” on the subject after the eighth meeting of the Allied countries of kyiv, held Friday January 20 on the American basis of Ramstein (Germany). “We cannot say today when [a decision will be made] and what will be the decision on Leopard tanks,” said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, at the end of the game.
A German green light was hoped for by Ukraine, who says he needs 300 additional tanks to withstand the assaults of the Russian army and, above all, go back to the offensive in the spring. “It is your power” to “launch a major supply that will stop the evil”, had pleaded the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the opening of Reunion. “I can thank you for hundreds of times [for the support already provided] but the hundreds of thanks are not hundreds of tanks,” he added.
To justify its non-decision, the German government explained that it had to identify the tanks at its disposal and verify their condition. Arguments that caused strong criticism in conservative opposition but also within the majority. “It is frightening that we need a new minister to verify our stocks of tanks eleven months after the start of the war,” deplored the president of the Bundestag Defense Commission, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. “It is a real tragicomedia. What count do we need, please?”, Critically criticized Andrij Melnyk, Ukrainian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ex-Ambassador in Berlin.
Far of Poles
Two days earlier, Germany had said it was ready to deliver Leopard, but as part of a coalition led by the United States. A solution for the moment excluded by Washington, which invokes reasons linked to the characteristics of its Abrams tanks. “It is very complicated equipment. It is expensive, it requires difficult training,” said number three of the Pentagon, Colin Kahl on January 18. “The Abrams tank, which works with a turbine and not a diesel engine, consumes twice as much as its European rivals. It needs a supply logistics that only Americans can afford,” confirms Marc Chassillan, engineer and specialist in ‘terrestrial military armament.
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