Berlin on Thursday evening left open the possibility of allowing the Allies to supply Ukraine with German-made heavy tanks, saying that would be “clarified in the next few hours or tomorrow morning”.
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Ukraine’s allies are meeting Friday at the US air base in Ramstein, Germany, to decide on additional military aid to Kyiv.
In the run-up to the talks, pressure mounted on Berlin to agree to the delivery of German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
Poland and Finland have agreed to supply such tanks to Ukraine, but need German approval to do so.
Asked if Berlin would allow European allies to send in tanks, Germany’s newest Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the answer will be “clear in the next few hours or early tomorrow (Friday)”.
In an interview with ZDF, Mr. Pistorius clarified that “nobody excludes the sending of Leopard tanks and that the approval or approval of the delivery can be given by other European partners”.
“But in the meantime, questions remain unanswered,” he added.
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However, the Defense Minister, who took office on Thursday, stressed that the decision would be taken in consultation with Western allies, particularly the United States.
Washington is “the most important ally in NATO, and it is therefore important that we (…) do this in close cooperation with the Americans,” he said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz told US congressmen in Davos that Germany will only supply heavy tanks to Ukraine if the US sends them, a senior US official told AFP on Thursday.
But Washington said it is not ready to ship its Abrams heavy tanks to Ukraine at this time.
“I am confident that we will make a decision on this in the next few days,” Mr Pistorius said.