Scholz gives Biden condition for supplying tanks to Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has put forward a condition for supplying German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in a phone conversation with the US President Joe Biden; this condition is that Washington decides to send their Abrams tanks first.
Source: German news outlet Süddeutsche Zeitung, reported by European Pravda
Details: The news outlet does not reveal any details of the discussion between the two leaders and points out that Biden has probably not taken any obligations on himself during the conversation.
"Obviously, the US demands that the chancellor not only allow other countries to supply Leopard-2 combat tanks, if Germany participates in such supplies, but that they will also provide some number of tanks themselves," the outlet’s article says.
Lately, the pressure on Germany from other EU countries has significantly increased, as Leopard-2 tanks are made in Germany, which means that Berlin has to approve their re-export. It is expected that a relevant decision will be made before the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the so-called Ramstein meeting, this Friday.
Background: Last week, Poland announced that it was ready to hand over a company of Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv within the framework of the international coalition. Germany, on the other hand, said on Friday that it had not yet received an official request from Poland to supply Leopard combat tanks to Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Bloomberg’s sources have said the German federal government may announce a decision regarding the supply of western tanks to Ukraine this week.
Ukraine is especially interested in getting Leopard tanks, as Europe has more than 2,000 of them and 13 countries have them. But Berlin’s approval is needed for its re-export, and Germany is worried about the escalation of the conflict.
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