German Defense Minister meets with US Secretary of State to develop arms delivery strategy
The newly appointed Defense Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, Boris Pistorius, met with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin this Thursday (01/19/2023) to discuss the use of tanks in Ukraine and the Allied Action Plan. According to a Portal source in the federal government, the trend is for the country to approve the shipment.
However, the US maintains its position, contrary to German demands, that it will send the tanks as long as the North Americans do too, arguing that the country’s models are insufficient given the complexity of the deployment operation and the difficulties posed by the Ukrainian troops would have to deal with.
Leopard tanks, on the other hand, can reach Ukraine through the border with Poland. The Polish government and Finland have agreed to cede their units to Kyiv, but these actions are subject to approval by Germany, which owns the weapons technology.
Before the meeting, Austin commended the German government for all the support it has given to Ukrainians. “Germany remains one of our most important allies… I would like to thank the German government for everything it has done to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses,” the minister said, without mentioning the tank issue.
“Together with our partners, we will continue to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom and territorial sovereignty,” said Pistorius a few hours after taking office as defense minister.
The two ministers will meet again on Friday (January 20), this time at a meeting with representatives from more than 50 countries at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, to discuss the military alliance’s next steps.
On Wednesday (January 18), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg raised the tone and called for the deployment of heavy weapons to end the war with Russia. “We are at a critical juncture in the war and we need a significant increase in support for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.
new german minister
Boris Pistorius, 62, took over as German Defense Minister this Thursday (Jan 19). He succeeds Christine Lambrecht, who tendered her resignation to Prime Minister Olaf Scholz on Monday (16 January) after being criticized for her ability to lead Germany in the face of the war in Ukraine.
Pistorius is a member of the Chancellor’s Party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Before taking office, the new minister had headed the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior since 2013.