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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is personally blocking the delivery of much-needed tanks to Ukraine, a former minister has revealed.
The cowardly leader is facing intense pressure from Ukraine and NATO allies to supply Kyiv with Leopard 2 tanks for its defense against Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion.
But so far it is refraining from supplying the tanks or allowing other NATO countries to do so out of fear of Russian retaliation, sparking a bitter dispute with the West and within Germany, and even clashing with its foreign minister.
There are signs that Scholz may finally be ready to do the right thing, as his defense minister has said that the allies can start training the Ukrainians on how to use the tanks, without actually handing them over.
Polish soldiers are shown in German-made Leopard 2 tanks that Olaf Scholz is blocking from being delivered to Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the defense minister and later said he was confident they would come to a resolution “soon”.
Earlier, Norbert Roettgen, an MP and former chairman of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, lashed out at his chancellor, accusing him of “stubbornness” on an issue that could help defeat invading Kremlin forces.
He said BBC Radio 4 Today program: ‘There is a deep division within the government: the Chancellor and the SDP on one side are fiercely resisting delivering proper and much-needed weapons like the Leopard 2 to Ukraine to make sure Ukraine can win, and the other two coalition partners , the Greens and the Liberals, have been very much in favor of arms surrender for quite some time.
But they are swallowing the chancellor’s resistance. In the Bundestag there has been a clear majority in favor of handing over heavy weapons for months. Since the summer we have been asking for that.
Asked if Scholz would change his mind, Roettgen replied: “I hope so, I have to be honest, personally I was absolutely certain that I would not let the Ramstein meeting go ahead without making a decision.”
“I publicly made this speculation, it turned out that I was wrong about Scholz’s stubbornness.”
The foreign minister refrains from supplying the tanks or allows other NATO countries to do so for fear of Russian reprisals.
A view of part of the convoy as Patriot mobile defense surface-to-air missile systems are transported to Poland yesterday.
Today Stoltenberg met with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to discuss weapons.
Pistorius said: “I have expressly encouraged partner countries that have Leopard tanks that are ready for deployment to train Ukrainian forces on these tanks.”
Stoltenberg welcomed the “clear message” from Pistorius, “because after a decision has been made on the delivery of the battle tanks, it will take some time to identify, prepare and train Ukrainian soldiers to use them.”
He added: ‘We must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine, and we must do it faster.
‘We discussed the subject of battle tanks. Consultations between our allies will continue and I am confident that we will soon have a solution.
At this crucial moment in the war, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine, and we must do it faster.
Therefore, I welcome our discussion today. We discussed the topic of battle tanks. Consultations between allies will continue and I am confident that we will soon have a solution.’
Last week, discussions over the delivery of weapons from the West took place at the Ramstein airbase in southern Germany, but Scholz stood his ground.
Under German law, the government must give permission before countries like Poland or Finland can commit to re-export German-made tanks like the requested Leopard 2.
Yesterday Poland said it was willing to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine without approval, but would first seek permission from Berlin, which Scholz has yet to grant.
German defense group Rheinmetall said it could deliver 29 Leopard 2A4 tanks by April/May and another 22 of the same model in late 2023 or early 2024, if Scholz gives the order.
It could also supply 88 older Leopard 1 tanks, a spokesman said.
European nations have agreed to spend another half a billion euros to arm Kyiv in the latest push in a multi-billion dollar campaign to help Ukraine push back Russian forces.
A Russian army Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer fires on Ukrainian troops at an undisclosed location.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday that Germany would not stand in the way if Warsaw asked to send Leopard tanks.
“We will seek this approval,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on Monday.
“Even if we don’t get such an approval in the end, we will give our tanks to Ukraine anyway, within a small coalition of countries, even if Germany is not in that coalition,” Morawiecki said.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller later told state television that a formal request was “an important gesture and we will certainly carry it out in the coming days.”
Ukraine, which still uses Soviet-era tanks, has said the world’s indecision is only “killing more of our people.”
Poland announced earlier this month that it was ready to deliver 14 Leopard tanks to Kyiv, but was waiting for a clear statement from Berlin authorizing the transfer.
Berlin has insisted on the need for all the allies to work together.
Ukrainian soldiers are seen riding a Soviet-era T-72 tank, widely used in the ongoing conflict, in the Donetsk region on January 20.
Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz’s spokesman reiterated that position on Monday, saying the government “does not rule out” the transfer of the tanks, but added: “It has not been decided yet.”
Roettgen added today: “This is not a new debate that we are having in Germany, we have had it for months, because this situation has been very clear for a long time and [Scholz] it has been effectively blocking it for months, at least since the summer.
“If the international pressure becomes so strong, so heavy, that Germany’s isolation would be visible to everyone else, it would be international pressure that would perhaps turn the tide, this is what we all hope for.”
“I think the international pressure, the war crimes, the effect and the difference that German weapons could make in this war along with other European deliveries, it will take about 300 tanks to make a real difference, they will become so big and irresistible. that finally, eventually the German chancellor will change course, but it will have taken too long, but eventually it will happen.’
Haunted by its post-World War II guilt, Germany has always tread carefully when it comes to conflict.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in front of a Leopard 2 tank in October last year (file photo)
German law requires countries that buy their weapons to seek approval before delivering them.
This is to prevent German-made weapons from being used in conflict zones against German interests.
In Ramstein on Friday, some 50 nations agreed to provide Kyiv with billions of dollars worth of military equipment, including armored vehicles and ammunition needed to push back Russian forces.
European foreign ministers agreed on Monday to spend an additional 500 million euros to arm Ukraine, diplomats said. This brings total common EU spending to €3.6 billion.
Russian parliament officials warned that nations arming Ukraine risk their own destruction, which would lead to a “global catastrophe.”
State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said: “The supply of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe.”
Ukraine says the heavily armored Leopard main battle tanks would give its ground troops more mobility and protection ahead of a new Russian offensive expected in the coming months, and could give them the firepower they need to regain momentum.