BERLIN
\nNATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called on Germany and allies to deliver battle tanks and advanced weapons systems to Ukraine.
\n\u201cAt this pivotal moment in the war, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine. And we must do it faster,\u201d Stoltenberg said at a joint news conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in Berlin.
\nStoltenberg warned that Russia is preparing for new offensives and said allies should step up military support for embattled Ukraine.
\n\u201cBattle tanks are of course important both to be able to repel new Russian offensives, but also for Ukraine to be able to retake territory, and win and prevail as a sovereign independent nation in Europe,\u201d he said.
\nStoltenberg added that he had \u201ca good discussion\u201d with Pistorius on Tuesday on the delivery of Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, saying he is confident that \u201cthere will be a solution soon.\u201d
\nGermany in talks with allies
\nPistorius confirmed ongoing talks among allies on the possible delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine but also said Berlin has not yet taken a decision on the matter.
\n\u201cOn the question of Leopard tanks, there is no new information,\u201d he told reporters, adding that discussions are still ongoing, and a decision will likely come soon.
\nThe German defense chief said while deliberations are ongoing, European partners that own German-made Leopard tanks can start training missions.
\n\u201cWe are encouraging our partners, if they have available Leopard tanks, they can begin training Ukrainian soldiers, if they want to do so, we would not stand in the way,\u201d he said.
\nPressure has been mounting on Germany to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz\u2019s government has been hesitant so far, fearing an escalation of the conflict with Russia.
\nThe German government has repeatedly said that Berlin will not act alone on issues of military support to Ukraine, but will continue to closely coordinate with the US and allies.
\nPoland and Finland have said they are ready to deliver German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, but they need Germany\u2019s approval for third-party transfer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called on Germany and allies to deliver battle tanks and advanced weapons systems to Ukraine. \u201cAt this pivotal moment in the war, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine. And we must do it faster,\u201d Stoltenberg said at a joint news conference with German Defense […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-309501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n