"Very good decisions were made in Ramstein, there were concrete results and then each country decides at the national level: Germany is very committed to Ukraine and we must not only talk about the tanks. Of course, President Zelensky he asks for them, but there are different ideas within the member states and we will talk about them today".
This was stated by the High Representative for EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell, arriving at the foreign affairs council in Brussels who clarified that "today we will not take any decision on the new tranche of military aid to Ukraine in the framework of the European Peace Facility, but I hope to reach a political agreement. Today we will also address the
issue of the tenth package of sanctions against Russia".
Germany is ready to authorize Poland to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine
.
This was stated by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said a decision on sending German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine would be made soon
.
.
Speaking in an interview with German TV ARD, Pistorius said Berlin has many factors to consider and that there is no need to make a hasty decision.
Such factors include the consequences for the security of the German population
Baerbock said Germany "won't object" to Poland's desire to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine, if Warsaw asks for permission
.
"If the request is put to us, then we will not oppose it," the German minister told French television Lci after the summit between German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
"For the moment the question has not been asked" by Poland, which is required to make an official request to Berlin, Baerbock said.
"We know how important these tanks are and that is why we are discussing them now with our partners. We have to make sure that people's lives are saved and the territory of Ukraine liberated," she added.
ANSA agency
Moscow threatens, 'Kiev tanks lead to catastrophe' - World
German Minister Baerbock: 'Ready to authorize Poland to send Leopards to Ukraine' (ANSA)
The question of the supply of Leopard tanks to Kiev would have caused tensions between the United States and Germany such as to provoke a clash between the US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the closest adviser to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Wolfgang Schmidt
.
This is supported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung in an article relaunched by the Ukrainian media.
According to the publication, Washington would have been particularly outraged by the fact that the German government has publicly set conditions for the supply of the Leopards to Ukraine, accepting the transfer only if the United States had supplied its Abrams tanks.
"Germany's NATO allies reacted with open incomprehension or ill-concealed anger to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's decision not to promise to supply Ukraine with Leopard tanks. The tone in the US government was particularly sharp," the article reads. .
Austin reportedly tried unsuccessfully at the Ramstein meeting to secure commitments to supply the German tanks.
The publication reports Austin's disagreement with Scholz's closest aide and that the meeting between officials was reportedly "tense."
Also, according to the paper, US President Jake Sullivan's national security adviser sharply criticized Germany's actions in a telephone conversation with German chancellor adviser Jens Pletner.
In Italy, the examination of the decree law extending for the whole of 2023 the government's authorization to send weapons to Ukraine begins on Monday morning in the Chamber of the Chamber, a provision already approved by the Senate and which should receive the definitive go-ahead from Montecitorio by Thursday.
This is a passage that should confirm what happened at Palazzo Madama and in the Commission, namely the unity of the majority on the yes to the provision, with the League however raising doubts about the effectiveness of the sanctions against Russia, and a new differentiation in the oppositions , with Pd and Third Pole in support of military support to Kiev, and M5s and Avs opposed to arms shipments,
"The sixth decree will exist and I think it will be shared by almost the entire Parliament.
It will give the Ukrainians the possibility of defending themselves from air attacks. It means missiles that shoot down other missiles".
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said it during 'Che tempo che fa' on Rai 3.
"We are really curious to see how the various oppositions, Pd, 5 Stars, Verdi and the others will behave -
commented the group leader of Fdi Tommaso Foti
- with the certainty that that front is destined to split".
Concept also repeated by Giovanni Donzelli, Emanuele Loperfido and Elisabetta Gardini.
The "certainty" expressed by Foti is also based on what happened last week in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Commissions: here the M5s, with Marco Pellegrini, stated that "the decree, by extending the shipment of arms, distances the objective of safeguarding lives and prolongs the duration of a conflict".
Thesis immediately contested by the Dems with Piero Fassino, who underlined how it is rather the military parity of Kiev and Moscow that forces Putin to negotiate
.
Opinion also supported by the exponents of the centre-right.
M5s and Nicola Fratoianni presented two amendments, rejected by the Commissions, which asked that each shipment of weapons be authorized by Parliament.
A dialectic, which however does not translate into a division in the vote, is recorded in the center-right with the League contesting the effectiveness of the sanctions against Russia: Simone Billi did it in the Commission as did Massimiliano Romeo in the Senate.
But the problem will be in the field of oppositions: in the face, even today, of the convinced yes of the two candidates for the secretariat of the Democratic Party Stefano Bonaccini and Elly Schlein to military support in Kiev, a new "niet" from Giuseppe Conte will be opposed which however, as he will not filibuster in the Senate.
So far, with just as many ministerial decrees,
Ukraine must be very clear that we must do everything possible to help this nation in its battle for independence". Parliament, he finally reassured, "will always be informed of any initiative and of any future shipment of military equipment.
I remind you that the Ukrainian decree extended the possibility of supplies to 2023.
We will honor our commitment."
