“The allies who want to send Leopard to Kyiv can start training the Ukrainians,” said the German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, while the foreign minister. of NATO said he was optimistic about sending the tanks
The Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg expressed confidence today that “there will soon be a solution to the issue of tanks”, after his meeting with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
The tanks are important for Ukraine to have the ability to repel Russian attacks and recapture territory, Jens Stoltenberg said, adding that he had a “positive” discussion on the issue with Boris Pistorius.
“At this juncture in the war, we have to supply heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine and we have to do it faster,” Stoltenberg said alongside Pistorius.
The conversations for Leopard tanks are a ‘natural part’ of policy makingsaid the Secretary General of the Alliance.
“Therefore, I welcome our discussion today. We discussed the issue of tanks. Consultations between the allies will continue and I am confident that we will soon have a solution,” Stoltenberg said.
Allies who want to send Leopard tanks to Kyiv can “start training” the Ukrainians, the German defense minister said.
For his part, the German defense minister said that “there is no dichotomy” between the allies on sending heavy tanks to Ukraine and emphasized that Berlin will act quickly if there is a positive decision on the issue.
Speaking alongside the NATO Secretary General, Boris Pistorius however stated that “the Alliance should not become part of the war in Ukraine”.
Germany will support Ukraine to win the war against Russia, despite the absence, at this stage, of a decision on the “thorny” issue of supplying Kyiv with Leopard tanks, Pistorius previously told ZDF television.
“We support Ukraine not to lose, to win this war against Russia,” he said.
“Germany is doing more for this than any ally except the United States,” Pistorius claimed.
The German government is under increasing pressure to give permission to its NATO allies to send to Ukraine the German-made Leopard heavy tanks that Kyiv wants to fight the Russian army.
“I understand the concerns and fears of Ukrainian friends. Germany has a responsibility and a special role”Pistorius admitted.
However, “we have to think carefully about what we can do”, he added, repeating that Berlin does not want to “play alone”.
Poland and Finland have offered to send Leopards from their armed forces stockpiles to Ukraine, but need formal approval from Berlin to re-export them.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to take a position on the issue of the re-export of the tanks, as well as on the issue of the direct shipment to Kyiv of Leopard from the German stocks.
Warsaw is increasing the pressure by announcing that it has forwarded a formal request to Berlin and says it is ready to overcome the issue of official approval from an indecisive Berlin.
Boris Pistorius stated that there is no rift within NATO on the issue.
“If the decision takes a day or two, so be it,” he said in response to criticism of Berlin’s slowness.
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