Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/PARIS: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said that he country would not stand in the way if Poland wanted to send its Leopard 2 modern tanks to Ukraine, in a possible breakthrough for Kyiv, which wanted the much-needed tanks for its fight against Russia.
According to the Arab News, Ukrainian officials have been calling on Western partners to supply them with the German-made modern tanks, Germany has so far held back from sending them and allowing other NATO nations to do so.
Germany stance on the modern tanks
Asked what could happen if Poland went ahead and sent its Leopard 2 modern tanks without German’s approval, Baerbock said that “for a moment, the question had not been asked, but if asked, we would not stand in the way.”
The German foreign minister’s remarks appear to go further than German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s comments earlier on Sunday that all decisions on arms deliveries could be coordinated with partners, including the United States.
The German government has been under immense pressure to let Leopard’s modern tank go to Ukraine. But Scholz’s Social Democrat party is traditionally skeptical of army involvements and wary of sudden moves that would exacerbate escalation with Russia.
Meanwhile, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that he expected a decision soon on the modern tanks, though he kept up the note of caution.
Pistorius told ARD TV that Germany would not make a hasty decision because the country had several factors to consider, including consequences for the security of the German population.
