However, Annalena Baerbock rejected the sharp criticism of the Polish government, which recently accused Germany of breaking its promises and using deceptive maneuvers in the exchange of tank rings. “In a situation like this, nobody deceives their European neighbors,” said the Green politician on Friday evening in the “Bild” format “The Right Questions”.
Berlin. The situation is unsatisfactory for both sides. But in war you don’t always know right away which is the perfect way. And the exchange of rings was initiated because it seemed to be “the best and quickest way at the time”.
In the exchange, Poland will receive replacements from allies such as Germany for Soviet-designed tanks that it gave to Ukraine after the Russian invasion of the neighboring country. This should make it possible for the Ukrainian soldiers to quickly receive heavy military equipment that they know how to use without extensive training.
But the people in Warsaw are anything but satisfied with the result. “The German promises to swap tank rings have turned out to be deceptive maneuvers,” Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek told the news magazine Der Spiegel. First, the Germans offered the Poles tanks “older than those we gave to Ukraine.” This offer is “not to be accepted because we have no interest in deteriorating the condition of our armament and in training our soldiers on equipment from the 1960s”. That is why they are now relying on the help of other NATO partners.
“It was clear from the start that we wouldn’t be able to replace every single tank overnight with a snap of our fingers,” said Baerbock, responding to the allegations from Poland. “Of course they can say we want more from you, but the tanks they have can still be delivered directly to Ukraine.”
Since the exchange of rings is obviously not going as planned, the German government is now examining “why that is obviously not happening and whether we then have to provide other support”. Armed aid for Ukraine is not just about tanks, but also about other heavy equipment, said Baerbock. “I’ve made it clear several times that we have to look at artillery in particular to see how we can provide more support.”
Source: Nachrichten
