Call for coalition committee
Union is becoming increasingly impatient when it comes to tanks
1/24/2023 5:54 am
Will Ukraine get Leopard tanks or not? While the federal government continues to struggle with an answer, the Union is urging haste. Chancellor Scholz also receives international support.
Criticism from the Union is growing given the German government’s hesitation to supply Ukraine with Leopard main battle tanks. The government is lagging behind with the decisions “and is gambling away so much trust in our partners,” said Christian Democratic defense politician Henning Otte. Instead of using strong leadership to persuade those states that had Leopard tanks to take coordinated action, Chancellor Olaf Scholz only put the brakes “and isolates Germany”. There should be no further delay. “If Scholz does not see himself in a position to make decisions and show leadership, a coalition committee must be convened so that clarification can finally be made,” Otte demanded. His party colleague Serap Güler, also a member of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, complained in the “Bild” newspaper that the government was still wasting valuable time. “If the SPD doesn’t want to keep making themselves look ridiculous, they should finally live up to their own claim to be the leading nation.”
The CDU foreign politician Katja Leikert told the newspaper that the cabinet seemed “headless” when it came to the question. “Baerbock says hü in Paris, then hott in Brussels. Habeck openly opposes the line of the chancellor’s office. Pistorius wants to have a list made that has been around for a long time.”
The pressure from Ukraine and the western allies on Germany in the main battle tank debate is great. The federal government has so far decided to deliver the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, but a decision on the Leopard 2 battle tank is still pending. The Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn meanwhile protected Scholz. “The enemy is not Chancellor Scholz, the enemy is Putin. And that’s what we should focus on,” Asselborn said on ZDF’s “heute-journal”. Scholz has not yet said no to the delivery of Leopard tanks that Kyiv has been demanding for months, but he has not yet said yes, emphasized Asselborn. Incidentally, Germany is not as isolated on this issue in the EU as is sometimes portrayed in the German media. There are also other “large countries and border countries” that are reluctant to take this step.
Asselborn: Scholz also has the Russian spring offensive in mind
Several EU countries had criticized the federal government on Monday at the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, in some cases very clearly. Poland announced that it would ask Germany for approval for the delivery of German-made Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine – but made it clear that if necessary it would also want to deliver Leopard 2 tanks in a small coalition without permission. At meetings, Secretary of State Baerbock dodged the question of whether the federal government would quickly approve an application for the delivery of Leopard main battle tanks from other countries. The day before, the Greens politician had said in an interview about the Polish plans: “We have not been asked and (…) if we were asked, we would not stand in the way of it.”
According to Ukraine, it needs “several hundred” battle tanks for the intended reconquest of the areas occupied by Russia. “Every tank that is capable of fighting must be on our front today,” wrote Presidential Office Chief Andriy Yermak on Telegram. Without a victory for Ukraine, with a return to the 1991 borders and punishment of Russia, there will be neither stable development nor a clear world order.
Luxembourg Minister Asselborn said he was expecting a large-scale spring offensive by Russia and assumed “that the German Chancellor also has this in mind.” Then Europe and the West must be prepared to provide military equipment and tanks “so that Ukraine is not overrun” and hundreds of thousands of people do not die there. We are talking about about 300 tanks needed, if possible of one type. And if you look around, this is the leopard that is so massively present in Europe. There are 2000 Leopard tanks in Europe.
Most recently, Kyiv had received modernized Soviet-style tanks from the Czech Republic. Great Britain, Poland and Finland offered Kyiv Western tanks, including German-made Leopards.
US emphasize unity
In the battle tank debate, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized the unity of the alliance and once again called for more arms deliveries. Since the beginning of the war almost a year ago, there has been “an unprecedented level of support” in the alliance, including Germany, Stoltenberg said on the TV channel Welt when asked whether NATO was divided in a crucial phase of the war . There is now a consultation process on what kind of equipment should be supplied to Ukraine. Sometimes it also takes some time to consult confidentially with the Allies. He welcomes all the announcements made by the Allies about battle tanks.
The US government has not revealed any tensions with Germany in the debate. Germany is a loyal and reliable partner, said US State Department spokesman Ned Price in Washington. The delivery of military equipment is a sovereign decision of each partner. And Germany has already provided a lot of help, Price said. However, he hinted that Germany’s position with regard to the Leopard tanks could possibly change soon. “When I read the headlines, I have the impression that we could hear more from our German partners in the coming hours or days,” said Price.