The Biden administration is leaning toward sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine and an announcement could be made this week, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing sources who said the US presidency declined to comment.

Abrams M1A2 Sepv3 battle tank in Romaero – BSDAPhoto: HotNews.ro / Viktor Kosmei

The announcement is said to be part of a wider diplomatic deal with Germany, under which Berlin will agree to send fewer of its own Leopard 2 tanks and approve the delivery of more German-made tanks to Poland and other countries, News. quotation ro. The compromise was supposed to resolve the transatlantic tank dispute that threatened to drive a wedge between the Allies as the war neared the end of its first year.

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The U.S. change in position followed a January 17 phone call between President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in which Biden agreed to consider supplying Abrams tanks, although the Pentagon disagreed. A senior German official told the WSJ that the issue had been the subject of intense talks between Washington and Berlin for more than a week and appeared to be on the way to a resolution.

U.S. military officials have publicly argued that Abrams tanks require significant training and logistical support and are therefore unsuitable for this period of conflict.

The decision came less than a week after defense officials from more than 50 countries and organizations met at Germany’s Ramstein air base when the US and its allies failed to convince Germany to allow other countries to send German-made Leopard tanks.

Although the Pentagon previously ruled out supplying Ukraine with M1 Abrams tanks, arguing that they are too complex for Ukrainians to maintain and operate, White House and State Department officials have been more open to the idea in order to break the diplomatic deadlock with Germany, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Some Democratic congressmen close to the White House, such as Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, have also requested the supply of Abrams tanks, the American publication notes.

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