Oliver Towfigh Nia
12 December 2022•Update: 13 December 2022
BERLIN
There is no German commitment yet to deliver tanks to Ukraine, the Ukrainian foreign minister said on Monday.
“Such a decision has not yet been made. There are no promises. But we are working on it, quite openly," Dmytro Kuleba told German ARD public broadcaster.
According to him, Ukraine does not understand why Germany is supplying artillery but not tanks.
"As of now, there are projects from Germany, that's the delivery of the Iris-T systems, that's anti-aircraft weapons," Kuleba said.
The Cheetah tanks are also anti-aircraft weapons. "But at this moment, as far as I know, tanks are not included in this list. That's too bad," he added.
Previously, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Oleksiy Makeev said that he had received promises in Berlin for further arms deliveries.
In an interview with the German weekly Welt am Sonntag, Makeev said that an announcement will be made by both sides "in due course" as to what sort of German weapons will be sent to Ukraine.
He pointed out that more air defense systems, self-propelled howitzers, Gepard tanks and ammunition were urgently needed at the war front.
"We are also still in talks about the delivery of Marder and Leopard tanks. However, the decision on this lies with the federal (German) government,” said the ambassador.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to supply Leopard 2 combat tanks on the grounds that no other NATO country has made such tanks available.
The US signaled on Friday that they see no obstacle in this. But it was Germany's decision, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told journalists during a visit to Berlin.
