main battle tank
Scholz spokesman: Leopard delivery does not depend on USA
“There was never a link with the USA”: Olaf Scholz (right) with his spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
According to media reports, Chancellor Scholz is making the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine conditional on simultaneous deliveries from the United States. The government spokesman denies the reports.
The federal government has clarified that it does not make the supply of German-made Leopard 2 tanks dependent on the supply of M1 Abrams tanks from the USA.
“At no time (…) was there a link or a demand that one thing had to happen so that the other could happen,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin. “Bild” and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” had previously reported that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) only wanted to deliver the Leopard tanks if the USA agreed to their Abrams tanks.
“It’s hard for me to imagine a German chancellor dictating any conditions or making demands on an American president,” Hebestreit said. However, he also reiterated that coordinated action with the United States is important to the federal government. This was also the case with the decisions about the Marder armored personnel carriers or the multiple rocket launchers.
Poland and Finland have already announced that they want to deliver Leopard 2 tanks in the European network. Germany has not yet positioned itself on this. Hebestreit said there was still no official request from Poland. On the question of how the federal government would react if Poland were to deliver without a permit, the government spokesman said: “All our partners certainly want to behave in accordance with the law.”