The United States on Friday avoided criticizing Germany’s decision to postpone a decision to send tanks to Ukraine, although it noted that all countries supporting Kiev «can do more» and that the «window of opportunity» to supply military hardware until the spring, when a new Russian offensive may occur, must be seized.
After Germany maintained at the meeting of 40 allies at the Ramstein air base its blockade to the supply of Leopard tanks demanded by Kiev, the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, said at a press conference that the Contact Group for Ukraine remains focused on ensuring that the Ukrainian Army has the necessary means to succeed on the battlefield.
«We have a window of opportunity between now and spring, when there can be counteroffensives. That’s not much time,» he said, assuring that Germany is a «reliable ally» and has been contributing since the beginning of the conflict, but then insisting that «every member of the Contact Group can do more.»
The Secretary of Defense wanted to make it clear that military assistance to Ukraine is a «combined effort» and does not depend only on transferring one type of weaponry, in reference to the German-made battle tanks.
The supply of Leopard tanks has been the focus of international attention in recent days, given that Berlin is in a position to authorize the re-export of the tanks to Ukraine, as requested by Poland and the Baltic states. German diplomatic sources consulted by Europa Press explain that it remains «unclear» when this decision can be taken or if it will finally be taken.
In addition, Austin has denied that the German Executive links the dispatch of its tanks to the United States doing the same with M1 Abrams tanks and has echoed the statements in this regard of the German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius. «He was clear about this, the notion of unlocking one with the other is not an issue for me, nor for the German minister either,» he has stressed.
The meeting in Ramstein was attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who welcomed the «significant new package of combat capabilities» announced by the coalition in support of Ukraine. «Russia is preparing new offensives so it is urgent to raise assistance to Ukraine to win and regain the occupied territory,» he noted.
«Like most wars, this is likely to end at the negotiating table, but what happens in negotiations is directly related to what happens on the battlefield, so we must deliver more weapons to Ukraine now,» the former Norwegian prime minister has defended.
Asked directly about the issue of German tanks, Stoltenberg said that consultations between allies will continue in order to make a decision, pointing out that the debate on the supply of weapons to Ukraine has been in full swing since the beginning of the war.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
