Germany’s approval of the re-export of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine is secondary, as Poland could send tanks as part of a coalition of countries even without Berlin’s permission, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday.

During talks in Germany last week, the United States and its allies failed to persuade Berlin to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine, a key demand from Kyiv as it tries to revitalize its fight against Russian forces.

Poland is pushing countries that have German-made Leopard tanks to send them to Ukraine, even if Germany does not want to join this group.

“We will seek such permission, but this is a secondary issue. Even if we didn’t get this approval… we would move our tanks into Ukraine together with others,” Morawiecki told reporters. “The condition for us at the moment is the creation of at least a small coalition of countries.”

However, Germany will not interfere if Poland sends Leopard 2 to Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Analena Bourbock said on Sunday in an interview with French TV channel LCI.

On Monday, she added that “it is important that we, as the international community, do everything possible to protect Ukraine so that it can win back and regain the right to live in peace and freedom,” Bourbock said before the meeting of foreign ministers. EU affairs, but without mentioning tanks.

Source: Reuters.