Berlin not blocking export of tanks to Ukraine, EU diplomat says
Source: Reuters
WARSAW/BRUSSELS Jan 23 (Reuters) - Germany is not blocking the re-export of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the European Union's top diplomat said on Monday, after Poland vowed to send some as long as other countries did too. The Kyiv government wants the German-made Leopard 2, one of the most widely used Western tanks, to help it break through Russian lines and recapture territory this year.
Germany, which must approve re-exports of the Leopard, has held back, wary of moves that could cause Moscow to escalate. Under strong pressure from some of its allies, Berlin has said it is willing to act quickly if there is a consensus among those allies and notes that other NATO members have yet to formally ask to re-export the tanks.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, whose country borders Ukraine, said earlier on Monday that Warsaw would seek permission to send the tanks to Kyiv and was trying to get others on board. "Even if we did not get this approval... we would still transfer our tanks together with others to Ukraine. The condition for us at the moment is to build at least a small coalition of countries," he said.
On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had said Berlin would not stand in Poland's way if it chose to ask and, on Monday, the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Germany was not blocking the export of the tanks. "From what I understand, Germany is not going to ban the export of these weapons if any EU country that has them wishes to do so," he said after EU foreign ministers met in Brussels and approved 500 million euros ($545 million) of new military aid to Ukraine.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-signals-shift-veto-leopard-tanks-ukraine-2023-01-23/
This is good news since Poland has taken in many of Ukraine's fleeing citizens and it's in their interest to help protect the territorial integrity of their neighbor.
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