Berlin Will Allow Exporting German-made Tanks To Ukraine If The United States Also Sends

German Leopard 2 Tank. (Wikimedia Commons/Bundeswehr-Photos)

JAKARTA - Berlin will not allow allies to send German-made tanks to help Ukraine confront Russia or send its own systems, unless Washington agrees to send US-made combat tanks, senior German officials said on Wednesday.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies have more than 2,000 German-made Leopard Main Battle Tanks (MBT), which are considered one of the most advanced in the world, according to London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

A number of countries in Europe that have MBT Leopard say they are ready to send them to Ukraine, if they get approval from Berlin even though there has been no official submission. That includes Poland, Finland and Denmark.

Later, earlier this week the UK said it would send 14 MBT Challengers 2 to Ukraine.

"People cannot distinguish between direct exports ( German-made tanks) and exports by third countries," a senior German official said on Wednesday, launching The Wall Street Journal January 19.

However, the United States 'not yet' in terms of giving their MBT M-1 Abrams to Ukraine, Colin Kahl, Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy, number three at the Pentagon, told reporters on Wednesday.

"Tank Abrams is very complicated, the price is expensive. It's difficult to train. It has a jet engine... It's not the easiest system to care for," said Dr. Kahl.

While he did not directly respond to Germany's call for the US to provide tanks, he said the Pentagon did not want to provide equipment in which Ukraine cannot repair, maintain and cannot afford to buy in the long term.

"It's not about the news cycle or what's symbolically valuable. That's what's really going to help Ukraine," said Dr. Kahl.

However, the US remains hoping to persuade Germany to give the tanks the green light. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Berlin Wednesday to meet with the new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

US officials believe the Leopard tank can help Ukraine deal with Russian attacks, which are expected to begin soon.

"That's why we see modern mechanical armored capabilities, and that's why focus on tanks, and Germany is key to those capabilities because of the most pressing need, the most accessible and useful capability is Leopard," a senior US defense official explained.

"We are very optimistic that we will make progress in this requirement by the end of this week," the official said.

It is unclear whether US officials are aware of Germany's position in terms of American tanks.

It is known that the export of large numbers of modern Western-made tanks, long opposed by the US and European allies, would mark an important increase in Western support for Kyiv. Berlin has long feared such a move could drag the country into direct confrontation with Russia.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday Germany was " strategically interrelated" with friends and partners, when it came to making decisions on how to support Ukraine, including with tanks.

Separately, Ukraine's 50 major support countries known as the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, plan to meet at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday, to agree on a substantial new military aid package to Kyiv.

Diplomats from several NATO countries said the issue of shipping Leopard, including Germany's approval for third-state exports to Ukraine, would be one of the main topics of the meeting.

Currently, MBT Leopard consists of two types. Leopard 1 was designed in the 1960s, and the much more modern Leopard 2 model. Germany itself has only about 15 Leopard 2 tanks that can be delivered to Ukraine in a short time, officials said.