MOSCOW, 22 Jan. The decision of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz not yet to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine has pissed off the United States, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
«Berlin's refusal provoked a strong reaction in Washington. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin argued bitterly with German Federal Minister for Special Assignments Wolfgang Schmidt. The meeting turned out to be tense,» the publication says.
The United States, as noted in the article, has allegedly indicated for several months that there can be no connection between the supply of American tanks to Ukraine and the decision on Leopard.
«Particularly irritated in Washington was the information that the German government had publicly set conditions for the US to supply tanks even before the meeting at Ramstein airbase. Austin received the information on his way to Berlin,» the article says.
In response, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Jens Pletner, foreign policy adviser to the German Chancellor. The White House administration called Berlin's decision to supply tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine a manifestation of a tough confrontation, the publication summarized.
This week, a meeting of the NATO contact group on support to Ukraine was held at the Ramstein airbase, at which the issue of increasing military assistance to the Kyiv regime was discussed . Its participants failed to reach a consensus on the supply of German tanks. Berlin has so far refrained from doing so, despite the fact that pressure on Scholz has increased significantly.
According to the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the German Chancellor, in a conversation with Joe Biden, made it clear that Germany will supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks only if the American side will give the APU Abrams tanks. These allegations were later denied in Berlin.
After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the US and NATO allies continue to pump tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons into the Kyiv regime. Moscow, for its part, said that the supply of Western weapons only prolongs the conflict, and the transport of weapons becomes a legitimate target for the Russian Aerospace Forces.