Military support to Ukraine, further sanctions against Russia and bilateral relations were discussed Wednesday by the heads of the Polish and Ukrainian MFAs Zbigniew Rau and Dmytro Kuleba, the Polish MFA reported. Kułeba thanked Poland for the initiative regarding Leopard 2 tanks.
Kuleba thanked Poland
Minister Zbigniew Rau had a telephone conversation with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba today. The main issues raised during the talks were Polish-Ukrainian bilateral relations, military support to Ukraine and further sanctions against Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports this on Twitter.
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Kułeba also said on Twitter that he had spoken by phone with Minister Zbigniew Rau.
I thanked Poland, which was the first to publicly announce the delivery of Leopard 2 (tanks), thus contributing to the formation of a coalition (for the transfer of) tanks. New tasks for us: Western-type fighters, sanctions, the implementation of the peace formula
– emphasized the Ukrainian diplomat.
We are constantly working with our Polish partners to develop connectivity between Ukraine and Poland. Today we discussed in detail ways to expand and facilitate passenger and cargo connections between our countries
Kuleba added.
“Good decision, long awaited”
A good decision, long overdue, long overdue, but we are happy that it will certainly support the efforts of Ukraine and Ukrainian society for a strategic victory – said the head of the Foreign Ministry Zbigniew Rau, referring to Germany’s decision to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The German government announced on Wednesday that it would deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine; In the first phase, Germany wants to hand over 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from the stock of the Bundeswehr to Ukraine. Germany will also issue appropriate permits to partner countries that want to quickly deliver Leopard 2 tanks from their stockpiles to Ukraine. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit reports this in a statement.
In an interview with journalists in the Sejm, the head of the Foreign Ministry assessed the German government’s announcement.
A good decision, long overdue, long drawn out, but we are happy that it will certainly support the efforts of Ukraine and Ukrainian society for a strategic victory, and it will be a victory for the whole free world, so it is worth working together
– he said.
READ MORE: Kiev happy with Leopards decision. “So the tank coalition is formed”; “I am sincerely grateful to the Chancellor”
Green light for leopards
The German government announced on Wednesday that it would deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine; In the first phase, Germany wants to hand over 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from the stock of the Bundeswehr to Ukraine. Germany will also issue appropriate permits to partner countries that want to quickly deliver Leopard 2 tanks from their stockpiles to Ukraine. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit reports this in a statement.
READ MORE: Germany’s groundbreaking decision! Berlin will supply Ukraine with tanks. It also enables partners to supply Leopards from their own stock
On January 11, President Andrzej Duda announced in Lviv that Poland had decided to transfer a company of Leopard 2 tanks (10-14 tanks) to Ukraine as part of building an international coalition on the issue. As he emphasized: “We especially want it to be an international coalition.”
A meeting of the contact group defense support for Ukraine was held at the US base in Ramstein on Friday. However, it did not bring a solution in the form of Germany’s consent to the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine – which Ukraine had hoped for before the meeting. Since the leopards are manufactured by Germany, permission from Germany is required to transfer them to another non-NATO country.
The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank produced by the German concern Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The first versions entered the equipment of the German army in 1979-1980; new versions of the vehicles have been made since then. Currently, Leopard 2s are used by many European countries, including Germany, Poland, Turkey, Spain, Greece, Denmark and Norway, as well as non-NATO countries – for example, Sweden, Finland, Austria and Switzerland.
kk/PAP
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.