Slovakia is not ready to hand over its Leopard tanks to Ukraine, as they replace combat vehicles already sent to the neighboring country, Defense Minister Yaroslav Nad said, DPA reports on Thursday.

The agreement with Germany, according to which Leopard 2A4 tanks will be delivered to Slovakia, is still valid, the minister told Slovak news agency TASR on Wednesday evening.

Under the deal, one Leopard tank was delivered to Slovakia in December on the orders of then-German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, and 14 more are to be delivered by the end of this year.

The Leopard tanks are part of a circular system of exchange of military equipment introduced by the German government to indirectly supply weapons to Ukraine through allies.

With the help of such a circular exchange, German Leopard tanks replace 30 BMP-1s that Slovakia has already transferred to Ukraine.

To help the neighboring country, Slovakia is ready to discuss the transfer of its Soviet-style T-72 tanks, but Bratislava must receive a suitable replacement, Jaroslav Nad said.

On the other hand, “Leopard” tanks themselves replace the surrendered equipment and are therefore irreplaceable, the Slovak minister added.

(source: Agerpres)