Germany Denies Giving US Ultimatum On Ukraine Tank Supplies

Faizan Hashmi Published January 20, 2023 | 08:50 PM

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit denied on Friday that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ever demanded that the United States deliver Abrams tanks to Ukraine as a precondition to Germany's own sending of Leopard tanks, as alleged in media report

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2023) German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit denied on Friday that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ever demanded that the United States deliver Abrams tanks to Ukraine as a precondition to Germany's own sending of Leopard tanks, as alleged in media reports.

German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing sources, that Scholz told US President Joe Biden on Tuesday that Germany would send Ukraine the Leopard tanks only if the US sends its Abrams tanks first.

"At no time was there such a demand that one thing had to happen so that the other could happen," Hebestreit commented on the report.

The German government's spokesman said its decisions on Ukraine were driven by three key considerations, which are to provide as much support as Berlin can afford, to prevent NATO and Germany from becoming a party to the conflict, and for Germany not to act unilaterally.

Earlier this week, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the issue of coordinating the supply of German-made tanks to Ukraine by third countries would be decided on Friday at the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The meeting, chaired by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, will discuss the supply of foreign military aid to Ukraine, specifically of modern Western-made tanks, as Ukraine has claimed it expects the intensification of fighting in coming weeks.

In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev after Russia started its military operation in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that pumping Ukraine with weapons did not contribute to the success of peace negotiations and would have a detrimental effect on the conflict. The Russian Foreign Ministry repeatedly noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia.