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Swiss soldier on a Leopard 2: submission "possible in principle"
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ARND WIEGMANN/ REUTERS
After the decision to support Ukraine with two Leopard 2 tank battalions, the German government wants to close the gaps that have arisen with its partners.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) have therefore turned to Switzerland, which still has Leopard 2 models.
In a joint letter, the ministers asked Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd for permission for Rheinmetall to buy mothballed Leopard 2 tanks from Switzerland from the 1980s.
The letter of February 23 is available to SPIEGEL.
The Swiss newspaper Blick reported first.
A spokesman for the Swiss Ministry of Defense confirmed receipt of the request.
However, it is not a replacement for the 2A6 tanks that Germany plans to deliver at the end of March.
Instead, the Ministry of Defense is asking for approval to purchase Leopard 2A4 tanks.
From this stock, EU or NATO countries such as Poland or Spain could then buy spare parts or entire tanks.
In addition, Germany assures Switzerland that it will not forward the tanks it has received back to Ukraine.
Several European nations have pledged to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2A4 tanks in recent weeks.
According to insiders, countries like Poland or Spain do not have large stocks of spare parts, which would be urgently needed to repair the tanks delivered to Ukraine after just a few months.
“Basically possible from the point of view of the army”
Switzerland has 230 Leopard 2 tanks, of which 134 are in service and 96 are decommissioned.
But they were not "decommissioned," as the spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Bern said.
According to Swiss law, only decommissioned material can be sold.
Parliament decides whether material is to be decommissioned.
Arms deliveries in the context of the war against Ukraine are currently being hotly debated.
Referring to its neutrality, Switzerland has banned Germany and other countries from transferring Swiss ammunition to Ukraine.
Whether and how this should be changed is controversial.
"From the point of view of the army, it would be possible in principle, minus the need for the full equipment of the six mechanized battalions, to do without a limited number of battle tanks," the ministry said.
The prerequisite is that Parliament puts them out of service.
In the smaller chamber of parliament, the Council of States, such a deal with the Swiss Leopard tanks was viewed with skepticism.
At the beginning of February, the Security Policy Commission voted eight to two against a parliamentary initiative that envisaged decommissioning up to 30 of the 96 decommissioned Panzer 87 Leopards of the Swiss Army and handing them back to Germany.
Opponents said the tanks were needed as a strategic reserve and spare parts store, the commission said on February 3.
sol/mgb/dpa/Reuters