Germany’s Foreign Minister Anna Baerbock stated that Germany would not stand in its way if Poland sent Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Ukraine has requested the West transport its German-designed tanks, claiming they’ll help defeat Russia.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Radical 7 that Germany could “save the lives of many Ukrainian soldiers.”
Germany must demonstrate a willingness to lift its export restrictions before it has any chance of agreeing with Poland. Ms. Baerbock informed reporters that Poland had not yet implored Germany for export permission.
“Currently, the very best service has not been rolled out, but if we were asked for the position, we would not get in the way,” she said.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday that Polish authorities would request permission from the German Central Government about the request for supplies to its troops stationed in Ukraine. He added that even if approval was declined, the tanks would be shipped to the Ukrainians anyway.
Even if we do not launch this consent, within the framework of cooperation among small groups, we will release our tanks and others to Ukraine.
Josep Borrell, the head of the European Union’s foreign policy office, stated that Germany did not intend to stop other member states from exporting Leopard tanks. He hinted that to support Ukraine, he questioned whether it is helpful to focus on tanks.
Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba called for all countries “to immediately, officially request the German government to allow delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.”
This step will make the scenario plain for us and verify where Germany is sending us. The German official said that this has to be done right away, and the situation will be made evident.
Mr. Kuleba told national television on Monday that he was “confident” Germany would provide the tanks later on: “We already have British Challenger. They said it would be impossible to supply them for much longer. Time and more yield progress, and we will have them sooner or later again.”
The government spokesman of the German government had not yet received any requests from Berlin to authorize Kyiv’s delivery of Leopard 2 tanks. Last week, Poland agreed to provide 14 tanks to Kyiv.
On Monday, the foreign policy adviser to the Polish president, Marcin Przydacz, commended Ms. Baerbock for announcing her stance but wished to hear confirmation from Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany.
It turns out that through conversations and diplomatic affairs, Poland can alter Germany’s position. Mr. Przydacz told Polish Radio.
However, Poland desires Germany and NATO allies to also send their Leopard tanks since government authorities admit that a number of the tanks’ deployments will have little effect on Ukraine’s fighting capacity.
Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Lower House of the Russian Federation’s Duma parliament, warned that the United States–coalition support for Ukraine could risk igniting a terrible world war. The supply of weapons that Ukraine could use to “strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories” could inspire the lower extremities to wage “retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons.”
Leopard 2 tanks were designed to rival Russian T-90 tanks used in the Russian invasion.
More than 2,000 are believed to exist worldwide, and some are believed to provide direct aid to the Russian military. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said 300 are intended to hinder the Russian Army’s victory.
Allied nations have come to loathe Germany for its unwillingness to send out its own Leopard 2 tanks.
Under the present regulations, Germany must sanction the further export of its tanks to other countries, such as Poland.
Germany did not comply with the request of foreign partners to supply and deliver tanks or release their export certificates. However, it refused to authorize blocking the tank export unilaterally.
In their joint declaration on Saturday, the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania urged Germany “to immediately send Leopard tanks to Ukraine.”
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