Poland slams German stance on Leopard tanks to Kiev as 'unacceptable'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Jan 2023 13:54
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Polish Prime Minister says they are waiting for a clear position from Berlin regarding its willingness to send its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine.

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki

The Polish Prime Minister slammed on Sunday Berlin's "attitude" on sending its Leopard 2 main battle tank to Ukraine as "unacceptable".

"Germany's attitude is unacceptable. It has been almost a year since the war began. Innocent people are dying every day," PM Mateusz Morawiecki told PAP news agency according to AFP.

"Russian bombs are wreaking havoc in Ukrainian cities. Civilian targets are being attacked, women and children are being murdered," he added.

If Germany refuses to send its tanks to Kiev, "we will set up a 'small coalition' of countries ready to donate some of their modern equipment, their modern tanks," Morawiecki warned.

We are waiting for "a clear statement" from Germany whether countries that own Leopard tanks can send them to Ukraine.

Following the contact group conference on Ukraine support on Friday, NATO members and their partners were unable to reach a plenary consensus on the provision of German tanks to Kiev. However, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius revealed that Berlin would continue deliberating this option for future possibilities.

"We discussed the possible delivery of Leopard tanks. I must say that there is no consensus on this issue," Pistorius told reporters.

He added that despite the high expectations, "we still cannot say when a decision will be taken, and what the decision will be when it comes to the Leopard tank."

The German army has already given up most of its Leopard tanks of older designs and exported them to Turkey, Greece, and Denmark, among other clients. The army still possesses around 300 modern versions, but it reportedly has no plans of selling them.

The army refused to provide additional details on the strengths and equipment of associations, or units.

In April last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested that sending any Western tanks to Ukraine would increase the risk of a nuclear war between NATO and Russia.

Berlin announced earlier this week that it will not allow allies to send German-made tanks to Kiev unless Washington agrees to ship to Ukraine its US-made tanks, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Poland stated that it is ready to provide Kiev with 14 Leopard battle tanks, noting that it is in talks with 15 countries on the matter.