BERLIN, Feb 12 Need to create pan-European successor tank model German Leopard 2 and French Leclerc, which could be supplied to Kiev, said the head of the German Bundestag Foreign Policy Committee Michael Roth (SPD).
«We don't need eleven different tanks in Europe, one is enough to save a lot of money. Then this product could also be easily delivered to Ukraine,» the politician said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag.
Roth recalled that he had long been advocating that there should be more «Europe» in the defense policy of armaments. However, when it comes to weapons systems, the European defense strategy is still like a patchwork quilt, lamented the head of the committee and called for pan-European coordination of various weapons activities.
«Germany and France have been planning for years to create a joint successor to the Leopard and Leclerc tanks. This is the first step in the right direction,» Roth said.
At the same time, the politician connected the current situation with the fact that Europe ignored Eastern Europe for too long, considering it a «no man's land» from a geopolitical point of view, which led to certain consequences.
Germany from the start of design work after the failed Kampfpanzer 70 project to implementation took about 10 years to create the Leopard 2 from the late 60s to 1978, in which mass production began.
At the end of January, the German government announced that it had decided to transfer German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Germany intends to form two tank battalions. At the first stage, they plan to provide a company of 14 Leopard 2 type A6 from the stocks of the Bundeswehr. In addition, Berlin agreed to grant permission for the re-export of German Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv to those countries that plan such deliveries from their stocks. In general, Germany plans to supply Ukraine with 178 Leopard tanks of the first generation and 14 Leopard 2 type A6.
Earlier, Russia sent a note to NATO countries because of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov stated that the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, «including not only the supply of weapons, but also the training of personnel … in the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries.»
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