Dispute over Leopard Panzer Klingbeil criticizes cross shots from coalition partners

SPD Chairman Lars Klingbeil has criticized "cross-shots" by politicians from the FDP and the Greens in the controversy over the shipment of battle tanks to Ukraine and has recommended that the party leaders of the coalition partners get involved. At a press conference on Monday in Berlin, Klingbeil declared, "I know what I would do as party leader if my party kept throwing cross shots like this.".

"I would bring up that topic with the appropriate people. If there are always some in the middle of a move, that doesn't speak well of your own party leadership.

The conflict within the coalition over the shipment of leopard 2 battle tanks had gotten worse over the previous few days. The communication from the Chancellor regarding the tank issue was dubbed a "disaster" by FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who also serves as Chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag.

The head of the Europe Committee in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter (Greens), reportedly told the newspapers of the funke media group that the federal government was losing trust and was making a "significant mistake" with its hesitation. "That needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

Germany was under intense pressure from its allies at the Ukraine conference on Friday in Ramstein, but it had not yet made the decision to send main battle tanks to Ukraine for defensive warfare against Russia. No delivery authorizations for the German-made tanks have yet been issued by the federal government to other nations.

EU puts more pressure on Scholz The European Union is putting more pressure on Germany to send Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. On the sidelines of the meeting of the foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, declared his support for the delivery.

He said, "We are here to discuss it," just before connecting via video with Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine. Berlin, however, has final say in the matter.

Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of the SPD, had "a great responsibility to really take a step," according to Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn. The Europeans would need to ensure "that the material is available" before the anticipated Russian spring offensive in order for Ukraine to be able to defend itself.

German is the largest partner country and the engine of Europe, which entails a special responsibility, according to Estonia's foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu. Poland wants to supply Germany with a request for authorization to send Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.

Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, told journalists on Monday, "We will apply for this permit.". He responded to the query of whether Warsaw has already requested or intends to request such a permit from the federal government.

At the same time, he affirmed that he intended to act even if Berlin said no. Morawiecki referred to the authorization as "secondary.".

"Even if we don't ultimately receive such a permit, we will still provide Ukraine with our tanks as part of a small coalition of nations, even though Germany is not a member of this coalition. Poland wants to hand Ukraine its own Leopard tanks in exchange for submission, just like Finland.

The federal government would need to approve this because they are a German production. Scholz is coming under increasing pressure as a result of his opposition to the shipment of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.

The federal government would not object to Poland supplying Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine, according to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), who made this statement in an interview with the French television network LCI on Sunday. Baerbock responded, "If you ask us, we wouldn't stand in the way of that.

Germany had, however, "not yet been questioned.". On Monday, the statement made by Baerbock was well received in Warsaw.

Marcin Przydacz, a presidential advisor for Poland, said on Polish radio that it was a step in the right direction. The German Foreign Ministry's stance is one we support.

FDP fortifies Baerbock's defense On Monday morning, however, Baerbock in Brussels gave evasive answers to questions regarding a delivery permit from the federal government. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, "has not departed from his murderous plan to annihilate Ukraine, eleven months after the start of Russia's brutal war of aggression," she claimed.

"And because of this, it's crucial that the international community take all necessary measures to defend Ukraine. On Monday though, Bijan Djir-Sarai, the general secretary of the FDP, stepped aside from Baerbock.

Djir-Sarai stated in Berlin that the liberals take for granted that Poland will be given approval by the federal government to provide Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. She said that her goal of destroying Ukraine remained constant.

"And because of this, it's crucial that the international community take all necessary measures to defend Ukraine. On Monday though, Bijan Djir-Sarai, the general secretary of the FDP, stepped aside from Baerbock.

Djir-Sarai stated in Berlin that the liberals take for granted that Poland will be given approval by the federal government to provide Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. She said that her goal of destroying Ukraine remained constant.

"And because of this, it's crucial that the international community take all necessary measures to defend Ukraine. On Monday though, Bijan Djir-Sarai, the general secretary of the FDP, stepped aside from Baerbock.

Djir-Sarai stated in Berlin that the liberals take for granted that Poland will be given approval by the federal government to provide Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.

SPD Chairman Lars Klingbeil has criticized "cross-shots" by politicians from the FDP and the Greens in the controversy over the shipment of battle tanks to Ukraine and has recommended that the party leaders of the coalition partners get involved.