“There is still no request from the Polish government. The announcements to the press are not an official request,” explained government spokesman Stephen Hembestright.
The federal government has not yet received a request for surrender approval German-made Leopard tanks in Ukraine by allies, the government representative said a while ago, without, however, excluding the possibility of submitting and approving such a request.
“There is still no request from the Polish government. The announcements to the press are not an official request”, clarified the government representative Stephen Hembestright, referring to today’s statement by Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that his country intends to ask Germany for permission to deliver Leopard tanks owned by the Polish armed forces to Ukraine. The contracts for the sale of German equipment systems stipulate that their resale or distribution to a third country must first be approved by Berlin.
“There are procedures for this and they will be followed. When a relevant request is submitted by Poland, the process begins,” said Mr. Hebstreit, however he avoided answering how long this process will take. Germany “is not isolated in the issue of the delivery of the Leopard 2, some countries are in favor, some others are against”, the government spokesman asserted and emphasized that “the federal government is not ruling out surrender, but no decision has been made to do so.” “We are huge supporters of Ukraine, however there is still a need to discuss the delivery of the Leopard 2 and we will take that time,” he added.
Asked about the rumored problems with the US caused by Germany’s reticence on the Leopard 2 issue, the government spokesman said he could not confirm such a thing, “neither in substance nor in alleged tension ». Talks with the US “are ongoing and constructive, we exchange views clearly and the chancellor continues to support very close coordination with the US,” it said.
The leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) Lars Kingbeil was also placed on the same line, stressing that Leopards can be delivered from other countries to Ukraine only with German permission. “There is a clear procedure and it should be followed,” he said, referring to an earlier position of the Polish leadership regarding the delivery of the tanks without German approval. The Greens’ foreign policy chief Anton Hofreiter took a different view, saying in an interview with Phoenix TV that the federal government had “damaged Germany’s reputation” by delaying the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. “We have caused significant damage, especially in eastern and central Europe, but also in other countries and now internationally,” Mr Hofreiter added. “We do a lot and that’s why it’s even more tragic that with clumsy handling in individual areas – even though we do so much – we have largely destroyed our reputation,” he said.
Reminded that this morning Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that his country will formally request permission from the manufacturer Germany to send tanks of type Leopard 2 to Ukraine in order for the latter to confront the Russian invaders, but it could proceed with this move even without Berlin’s approval.
Morawiecki pointed out that even if Germany does not become part of this ad-hoc alliance to send tanks, this will not be an obstacle to sending the relevant equipment.
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