US and its allies fail to agree on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

The United States and its allies have not reached any agreement on supplying German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as Russia issued threats that the war could escalate in Europe. NATO and defence leaders from about 50 countries met at the American Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the latest in a series of arm-pledging conferences since Russia invaded Ukraine 11 months ago.

At the meeting, European leaders pushed Germany to give a green light for the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in order to drive back Moscow’s forces. The failure to provide tanks ay indicate growing division with NATO over supplying such weapons. Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius denied claims that Berlin was unilaterally blocking the delivery of the Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, but said his government was ready to move quickly on the issue if there were consensus among allies.

“There are many allies who say we share the view that I have put forward here,” he said. Pistorius said that while there was no decision yet on whether to send the leopard tanks. “We will make a decision as soon as possible,” Pistorius said.