German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced renewed calls Thursday to deliver Leopard tanks long sought by Kyiv, after France became the first in the West to agree to supply light tanks to Ukraine.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked for Germany’s battle tanks in its fight against Russia, but Berlin had pointed out that no other Western partners had thus far provided such armaments.
Critics say Scholz, a Social Democrat, can no longer hide behind that stance.
“The argument constantly advanced by the chancellery that Germany must not go it alone is absolutely out of date,” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who heads the German parliament’s defence committee.
“France is once again taking on the role that was expected of Germany, and is going ahead alone,” she told AFP.
Strack-Zimmermann, who is from the liberal FDP party, a junior partner in Scholz’s coalition, said the chancellor “should finally recognise the sign of the times and follow up”.
“The ball is in Berlin’s court,” she said.
A government source told AFP that Berlin was in “constant talks with French and American allies” over military assistance to Kyiv, noting a meeting of Western allies set for mid-January, when the partners would discuss continued support for Ukraine.
– ‘New situation’ –
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, who according to media reports is likely to be named Germany’s new ambassador to Russia, also suggested that Berlin needed to reassess its position.
“I think that overall, it is an entirely new situation for the West when countries go and deliver new categories” of armaments, Graf Lambsdorff, also of the FDP, told German radio.
Anton Hoftreiter, the chair of parliament’s European affairs committee, told the Funke media group that the German government’s position against sending the tanks was “obsolete”.
“The chancellor must now create a European initiative for the delivery of Leopard-2 tanks” used by national armies across the bloc, said the MP for the Greens, also part of Scholz’s coalition.
France’s decision to supply the French-made AMX-10 RC also piles on pressure at a time when Germany’s Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht already faces criticism over a New Year’s message posted on social media that many considered tone-deaf.
Filmed on the streets of Berlin as fireworks were going off during chaotic New Year’s celebrations, Lambrecht reflected on a year ending with “war raging in the middle of Europe”.
She said the conflict in Ukraine had led to “a lot of special experiences” and the chance for “many encounters with great and interesting people”, in the clip posted on her personal Instagram account that has sparked calls for Scholz to sack her.
