Dispute over tank center in Poland
Pistorius speeds up Leopard repair
07/03/2023, 4:18 p.m
German Leopard tanks help Ukraine during counteroffensive. However, the agreed maintenance in Poland is not progressing because the costs are too high in Berlin. Defense Minister Pistorius travels to the neighboring country to untie the knot.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has called for rapid progress in setting up and operating a repair center for Leopard 2 main battle tanks in Poland. The talks should be completed in the next ten days if possible, said the SPD politician in Zamosc after a meeting with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak. “It has to be clear: repairs are part of sustainable support for Ukraine.”
Pistorius and Blaszczak had already agreed in April to set up the repair center. Leopard main battle tanks from Germany and Poland, which are used by Ukraine in the fight against Russia, are to be repaired there. The center was to be set up by the armaments manufacturer Bumar-Labedy in Gleiwitz (Gliwice) in Upper Silesia and was supposed to start work in May. But things are not progressing.
According to a report by “Spiegel”, the German side considers the price expectations of the Poles for repair work to be overpriced. Pistorius spoke of “intensive, complex negotiations”. He agreed with Blaszczak that solutions had to be found now.
Poland asks for extended Patriot deployment
The Polish Defense Minister also said he hopes that the deployment of German Patriot anti-aircraft systems in his country will be extended: “We are interested in the Patriot systems remaining on Polish territory at least until the end of the year.” Blaszczak pointed out that with the transfer of Russian nuclear weapons and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group to neighboring Belarus, the threat to Poland had increased. Originally, the German Patriots were only supposed to stay in Zamosc until the end of June.
After the conversation, Pistorius visited the firing positions of the Patriot anti-aircraft systems. The Bundeswehr has been deployed there since January. Zamosc is not far from Poland’s border with Ukraine. The Patriot systems are designed to protect Poland’s airspace. There had been political bickering between Berlin and Warsaw over their stationing. The then Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht had agreed with Blaszczak to transfer German patriots to Poland. But then Blaszczak suddenly suggested that Germany should better station the Patriots in Ukraine. This caused considerable irritation in Berlin. Finally an agreement was reached.