"Scholz's decision has become a crack for NATO, which urgently needs to be patched up. Biden cannot sit idly by." This is how Western media describe the results of the NATO summit at Ramstein Airbase, following which the alliance members failed to convince the leadership of Germany to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine. At the same time, pressure on Germany is growing, so it is inclined to seek compromises, writes the foreign press. On the eve of the German edition of Bild published an article devoted to Russian jokes about German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after his refusal to supply tanks to Ukraine.
"FSB Colonel Olaf Scholz, who single–handedly stopped the supply of dozens of German tanks to Ukraine, was awarded the title of Hero of Russia posthumously," the publication quotes the content of one of the memes.
According to the authors of the publication, the decision of the German leader caused a negative reaction among the allies supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, such an outcome will play into the hands of Russia, which contributed to the emergence of a huge number of jokes approving Scholz's decision.
Other German media are less jokingly inclined. According to the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, Scholz's decision not to transfer German Leopard tanks to the APU caused open misunderstanding and barely concealed anger among Germany's NATO allies. The reaction of the United States was particularly violent.
According to the publication, Washington reacted extremely sharply when the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, tried in vain for two days to get consent from the Germans to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Moreover, this concerns not only the contribution of Germany to the combat power of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but also permission to re-export equipment from other countries.
Separately, SZ describes the course of Austin's meeting with the head of the German Federal Chancellery, Wolfgang Schmidt. According to the publication, the Pentagon chief, who stayed in the department with Schmidt longer than planned, got into a fierce dispute with him, and their meeting was tense. At the same time, Americans believe that it is Schmidt who plays a key role.
Against this background, the German edition of Zeit writes about new disagreements in the Bundestag. Thus, the head of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman, demanded that the German Chancellor make "clear" statements regarding military support for Ukraine. "If you don't want to supply Leopard 2 to the Ukrainian army, then you have to explain why," she said.
The chairman of the SPD faction, Rolf Mutzenich, reacted to the criticism expressed by Strack-Zimmerman to the chancellor, stressing that it is necessary to be guided by common sense in the issue of the supply of German-made combat vehicles. At the same time, he noted that the head of the defense committee of the Bundestag "and her like" are pushing Germany to a military conflict.
"Those who talk about tanks today will shout about planes or troops tomorrow. Politics during the war in Europe is conducted not in the style of rituals of indignation or with rapid breathing, but with clarity and sanity," said Mutzenich.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post called Scholz's decision "a crack for NATO that urgently needs to be patched up," as well as a critical challenge to the alliance's unity. "At stake is not only the survival of Ukraine, but also leadership, sober thinking in Washington and Berlin. The indecision of Germany is a critical challenge for the unity of the West, Biden cannot sit idly by in the face of this," writes WP.
"Berlin has declared its readiness to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, provided that Joe Biden's administration is the first to send Abrams tanks for the AFU. Washington did not want to do this for technical reasons. But if sending several Abrams tanks is the key to breaking the deadlock and will allow transferring a much larger batch of Leopard tanks to the APU, Biden should take this step," the authors of the publication state.
The preference of German tanks for Ukraine is also indicated by The Wall Street Journal: "European NATO members consider Leopard 2 tanks to be the best option for Ukraine, largely because they are among the most common tanks in Europe. Western officials and analysts say that modern battle tanks will be necessary for any counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
At the same time, The New York Times reports on growing frustration in relations with Germany and an increasing split in NATO. "Despite the fact that most of this debate is taking place behind closed doors, Britain's impatience with the current pace of aid and Germany's refusal to provide Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine broke out this week," the publication says.
"And while Germany didn't say yes to sending tanks this week, it also didn't say no – at least not yet. But Ukraine has very little time to launch a potentially decisive spring offensive before the Russians do. And tanks are a key part of this effort," the NYT adds.
At the same time in another html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">the publication's material indicates another reason for Germany's unwillingness to send German tanks to Ukraine. "This is history. The Germans want to be considered a partner, not an aggressor, and they are particularly sensitive to the supply of weapons to regions where historically German weapons have been used to kill millions of people," explains Stephen Sokol, president of the American Council on Germany.
In addition, the authors add, "opinion polls show that half of Germans do not want to send tanks," because "people do not want German weapons to be used again to kill people in these regions."
"Politics also plays a role. Both the Social Democrats and the Greens - the largest members of the ruling coalition – have a strong pacifist wing, which party leaders like Scholz cannot ignore. In fact, he heads not a three-party, but a five-party coalition, if you count the pacifist wings of the Greens and the SPD. And the Social Democrats have a lot of voters in the former GDR, which sympathizes with Moscow," the authors of the publication add.
"Therefore, Scholz's model of behavior is an attempt to both respect and circumvent historical memory in a country where many names of battlefields are familiar to older Germans or younger Germans who have heard their parents' stories about that war," the NYT emphasizes.
But the Germans, despite all the arguments against the supply of tanks, are trying to find compromises with their NATO allies in the person of Poland and the United States. According to Reuters, "Germany signals the lifting of the veto on Leopard tanks for Ukraine," interpreting a new statement by German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock.
According to her, Berlin will not block Poland's decision if it sends its Leopard 2 tanks without German approval. "At the moment, this question has not been asked, but if it had been asked to us, we would not have interfered," Reuters quoted her as saying. "Thus, Berbok's statements seem to go further than Scholz's comments that all decisions on the supply of weapons will be made in coordination with allies, including the United States," the agency emphasizes.
Another example of a possible compromise is the alleged readiness of Germany to transfer Leopard "training" tanks to Ukraine. As Der Spiegel magazine points out, Berlin has counted its tanks and concluded that it can transfer 19 Leopard 2A5 models to the APU, which are used to simulate enemy tanks during military exercises:
"If the German government gives political consent to the delivery, then German Leopard 2A5 models can be combined with Leopard 2 models from other European countries, such as Poland. Nevertheless, it is technically not easy to assemble such a package of assistance."
"For example, most Leopard 2 tanks in Europe are equipped with hydraulic turret control, and Bundeswehr models have electric control. According to the military, a homogeneous fleet of tanks would be an advantage for Ukraine. Otherwise, the repair and maintenance of tanks would be even more difficult," the publication concludes.
Oleg Isaichenko
