Poland agrees with the one offered by Germany Compensation for the delivery of more than 200 Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine far from satisfied. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said in an interview published on Saturday that the federal government wanted to deliver 20 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks, which would only be operational in 12 months. But Poland expects at least 44 tanks, to equip a tank battalion.
“Certainly there are gifts that should be accepted with great caution,” the minister told the wPolityce.pl news portal. “Their low value later serves as a useful curtain to cover up the much more brutal reality.” Previously, Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek had spoken in the “Spiegel” of a “deceptive manoeuvre” by Germany.
A spokesman for the federal government told the dpa news agency on Saturday that the statements had been taken note of. “The federal government is still willing to organize a ring exchange with Poland.” In Berlin, however, it was also said that one was surprised at the sharp political tones coming from Poland. At the technical level, the discussions were always constructive.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) rejected the accusation of breach of word. “In such a situation, nobody deceives their European neighbors,” she said in a “Bild” TV interview. However, she admitted that the exchange of rings with NATO partners to supply the Ukrainian army with heavy weapons is not going as planned.
