RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY: No decision has yet been reached on whether to send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, Germany’s defence minister said on Friday, but added that German officials would examine their stocks for possible delivery.
“Today, we still cannot say when a decision will be taken, and what the decision will be, when it comes to the Leopard tank,” Boris Pistorius said during the US-hosted conference in Germany.
But Pistorius – who only took office on Thursday after his gaffe-prone predecessor resigned – said he had ordered his ministry to check stocks of the tanks so that action can follow quickly if the decision were to be positive for delivery.
A final decision would be taken only in consultation with allies, he stressed.
US calls for allies to ‘dig deeper’ on Ukraine as pressure builds for tanks
Pistorius also said it was “wrong” to claim that Germany alone was blocking the delivery to Ukraine of Western-made battle tanks.
The impression that “there is a united coalition, and that Germany is standing in the way is wrong,” said the minister. “There are many allies who say we share the view that I have put forward here,” he added.
“There are good reasons for the delivery and there are good reasons against it,” he added on the sidelines of a meeting at US Air Base Ramstein on coordinating military aid to Ukraine.
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