Germany and the USA are supplying battle tanks to Ukraine, well, yes. No further questions, except: who gave in now, Chancellor Scholz or President Biden?
Was there something? Joe Biden also apparently wants to dispel the impression that what he announced in the White House on Wednesday was hard diplomatic work. It is nothing less than an abrupt about-face by his government: the US will deny Ukraine abrams– Deliver main battle tanks, well, yes, and jump on the tank convoy. Just hours earlier, the federal government had announced that leopard– Panzers are to be delivered from Germany. Suddenly, what seemed impossible just a few days ago is now possible.
At the abrams it is about “very complicated” armaments, it was said just a week earlier from Washington, which is neither easy to maintain nor to operate and will therefore not be of any immediate benefit to Ukraine. The USA therefore indirectly rejected a delivery – only Chancellor Olaf Scholz should do so have made a conditionto give the go-ahead for submitting the leopard to give to Kyiv.
So has the US President given in?
In his announcement, Biden thanked Scholz for his “leadership” and “unwavering commitment” to supporting Ukraine. Germany has really made a strong case, the Chancellor is a strong voice for unity and a close friend.
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Leopard 2, Challenger, Abrams and Co.: data, facts and functions of various weapon systems
But he was Biden replied when asked by a journalist about the change of heart, “not forced” by Germany to change his mind. “We wanted to make sure we’re all together. That’s what we’ve wanted to do all along. And that’s what we’re doing right now,” Biden said.
So the chancellor has caved in?
On the contrary. Scholz didn’t let himself be deterred, at least that’s how he sees it. A few hours before Biden’s appearance, the Chancellor made clear in the Bundestagthat he had done a lot of things “right” with his wait-and-see policy when it came to tank deliveries. It is “right that we are supporting Ukraine in close coordination with our international partners.” It was “correct and intentional that we worked our way up bit by bit”. And it “was right and is right that we didn’t let ourselves drift.”
Could the relationship with the USA have suffered as a result of the tank pact based on the Scholz principle? Relations are “at a better level than they have probably been for a long time,” assured the Chancellor, who called Biden a “very capable, very oriented” politician and “really good partner”.
There is great harmony and unity, nobody was pushed, pushed, or put under pressure – that’s how Biden and Scholz obviously want it to be understood. The past few weeks have given a different picture. the “Southgerman newspaper” claims to have heard of heated arguments between Washington and Berlin at cabinet level, which the federal government clearly denied. However, the partner countries had obviously got stuck.
“Germany is the country that is in front”
Because despite all the emphasized agreement: Even who took the reins of the trade in their hands is obviously controversial. On Wednesday there were still signs of a gentle struggle and the sovereignty of interpretation. “Today’s announcement builds on the hard work and commitment of countries around the world, led by the United States of America,” said Biden. “Germany is the country that is at the front,” said Scholz in the evening ZDF interview.
In public, on the other hand, the impression was created that Germany was hesitating and hesitating. The chancellor let the tank discussion go on for weeks. The criticism grew louder. British historian Timothy Garton Ash spread the term “scholz” on Twitter, which according to his definition describes “the communication of good intentions only to use/find/invent every conceivable reason to delay or prevent them”. International partners felt they were being held out and recently openly threatened that the leopard-To deliver tanks without the necessary export license from Berlin. And last but not least, Scholz’s own coalition partners climbed onto the roof with increasing research.
But the chancellor let it all roll off. His slogan: no going it alone, battle tanks only in international solidarity, so that the risks for Germany do not “grow in the wrong direction”. Scholz evidently insisted that the nuclear power USA also get involved in order to establish Germany as the manufacturing country of the leopard-Don’t expose tanks too much.
This, in turn, put the United States under pressure. Biden ‘knew that if we were to supply Abrams tanks, Germany would only supply Leopard tanks’ Politico quoted a US official as saying, “and the unity of the allies is the most important thing to him.” So Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made him a suggestion as to how that could be done.
Because Austin too, that’s how she describes it “New York Times”be after sobering meeting of supporter countries in Ramstein been convinced that the Germans would actually only deliver in unison with the Americans. Accordingly, he is said to have said to advisers that he saw no point in risking a “break” in NATO or a rift with Germany over it. After all, he gave President Biden the delivery of the abrams-Main battle tanks recommended, despite alleged technical problems with logistics.
“It seems that the problem has been political all along, not military,” said Evelyn Farkas, once the Pentagon’s Ukraine policy officer in the Obama administration “New York Times”. “And our military leaders should have given the green light to the Abrams long ago to encourage the Germans that collective security would prevail.”
Abrams tanks to make Berlin move?
Now the US wants exactly 31 abrams-Supply main battle tanks, which is the size of a Ukrainian tank battalion. That’s more than a handful of “the most powerful tank in the world,” as Biden called the heavy machine. And possibly also a signal, because: the delivery is more than just a mere accommodation for Germany. Earlier, the Republican Michael McCaul, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, required“only one” abrams– to send tanks to make Berlin move. “Germany is waiting for us to take the lead,” he said, “then they will also deliver the Leopard.”
Against this background, the US media also read about a “about-face” by Biden, although his government had never completely ruled out supplying the Ukraine with battle tanks at some point – but publicly emphasized again that it was not the right time to celebrate the 70th -Send barrel tanks. Now the Ukrainian armed forces are to receive an entire battalion.
Some details still have to be worked out, it said on Wednesday. Especially since the delivery to Ukraine “will take some time,” as Biden said. According to US media, it could be months. But the knot has been untied, the tank pact is a done deal.
According to CNN Biden spoke by phone with Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday to discuss further military support for Ukraine. Biden then came to the conclusion that maintaining unity within the western alliance was crucial – which obviously meant the delivery of the abrams-Panzer has justified, contrary to the previously expressed skepticism.
It is not yet clear whether the relationship between Germany and the USA actually suffered from this episode and to what extent. In any case, it was a long and presumably agonizing road to the decision. However, the tough struggle also showed that Scholz and Biden can pull themselves together. Because they agree on that, as both emphasized: As allies, they must stand together.
Sources: “Southgerman newspaper”, “politico”, Bundestag (plenary minutes), “Axios”, “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, “New York Times”, “Daily News”, ZDF, ABC News, CNN