CNN: US and Germany failed to agree on the supply of tanks to Kyiv
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Discussions between the US and German authorities on the supply of tanks to Kyiv dragged on ahead of the meeting of the contact group to support Kyiv at the American Ramstein air base. About it informs CNN, citing a senior US administration official.
According to the interlocutor of the TV channel, Berlin insists that it will transfer tanks to Ukraine only if Washington does the same. Other US proposals on this issue do not suit the FRG, the source claims.
On January 19, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin met with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. Reuters wrotethat the American side intends to insist on the transfer of German Leoprad tanks to Kyiv. A US Department of Defense source told CNN that on the eve of the talks, Washington “was optimistic and confident of progress” on the issue.
Unnamed officials told CNN that a decision on a possible supply of tanks to Kyiv has not yet been made. They added that “it would be surprising” if Germany changed their mind despite Austin’s efforts. Other interlocutors called the German demand to send American tanks to Ukraine along with the German ones “absurd.”
On January 20, a meeting of Western defense ministers will be held at the Ramstein airbase in Germany, at which, among other things, the issue of transferring Leopard tanks to Kyiv will be discussed.
Since spring, Ukraine has been demanding the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks from Germany, but Kyiv has been denied this in Berlin. At the same time, pressure on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz intensified after the UK announced the delivery of four Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv, wrote Politico newspaper.
In addition, The New York Times reported at the end of December 2022 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Washington for Abrams tanks, but the Pentagon refused him. On January 20, the United States announced a new $3 billion military aid package to Ukraine that did not include Abrams tanks.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized Western financial and military assistance to Ukraine. In particular, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that pumping Ukraine with weapons would bring NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia.
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