Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged countries to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine during his Munich Security Conference speech, referring in particular to the countries that had promised to deliver the German-made Leopard 2 tanks following his green light at the end of January.
Part of guaranteeing sustainable support to Ukraine is that “all those who can deliver battle tanks do this,” Scholz said during his speech at the prominent annual conference on international security.
“This is the message that Defence Minister Pistorius, Foreign Minister Baerbock and I are spreading – including here in Munich,” he said, adding that Germany would do what it can to make the decision easier for partners, including by training Ukrainian soldiers in Germany as well as offer support regarding logistics and supplies.
Scholz’s remarks come as several countries that had previously promised to deliver their Leopard 2 tanks continue to drag their feet even though the government gave its green light at the end of January for them to be delivered.
Progress on tank deliveries is “not exactly brilliant – to put it mildly,” Pistorius admitted last week.
So far, only Germany, Portugal, and Norway have made concrete commitments for the delivery of Leopards, while the Netherlands and Denmark have shied away from their previous pledge – meaning numbers are still far from the two battalions Berlin had hoped to gather with its allies.
(Julia Dahm | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
