German Opposition Again Criticized Scholz And Called For Immediate Transfer Of Tanks To Ukraine

Representatives of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Alliance 90/Greens of the German parliament again criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his position on the issue of providing Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The German publication Zeit writes about this with reference to the statements of several politicians from the FDP and the Green Party.

"Germany made a big mistake in Ramstein and as a result lost its further reputation. Now it must be quickly corrected," said Anton Hofreiter, head of the Greens in the Bundestag.

According to him, the training of the Ukrainian military to operate Leopard 2 tanks should begin immediately to avoid delays that may arise in the future.

Bundestag Vice President Katrin Goring-Eckardt (Greens) said that Scholz's uncertainty is disappointing.

She called on the government of Germany to "clear the way" for the supply of German tanks to Ukraine, as they are extremely necessary for Ukrainians to protect their freedom.

The head of the defense committee of the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), believes that the discussion of the Leopard 2 supply has a negative impact on Germany's reputation.

"The Western world expects Germany to be a leader. This expectation is actually a compliment... But we are always behind the wave. That is why we are always waiting for something to happen. Germany is waiting, the chancellor's office is waiting for the pressure to increase," said the German politician.

The publication notes that Scholz's indecision on this issue could have been reinforced by the same indecision of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Earlier in Washington, they said that they are not considering the possibility of providing their Abrams tanks to Ukraine, because for this they would have to be transported across the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition, the Americans argued for their refusal by the fact that these tanks are allegedly difficult to maintain and consume too much fuel.

We will remind, on January 20, the 8th meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine was held in Germany. It was expected that a decision will be made at this meeting to provide Leopard 2 tanks to the Ukrainian military.

However, following the results of the meeting, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the issue of the supply of German tanks to Ukraine could not be agreed upon.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, said that he had a frank discussion with Pistorius regarding the provision of tanks. According to him, the discussion of this issue will be continued.