Military aid to Ukraine: President Duda disappointed by Germany's position with Poland
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau listens to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a joint news conference in Berlin, Germany May 24, 2022. REUTERS - TOBIAS SCHWARZ
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Poland is at the forefront among European countries with its support for Ukraine, starting with the reception of refugees, but also with its support for kyiv.
This support is also military with the transfer of more than 200 Soviet T-72 tanks.
An agreement provides for Germany to support Warsaw by providing its neighbor with modern equipment to replace that ceded to Ukraine.
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From our correspondent in Berlin
,
Pascal Thibaut
The implementation of the agreement is stalling.
Which again provoked harsh criticism from Warsaw against Berlin.
“
A deep disappointment
”.
Andrzej Duda believes that Germany has not kept its promises to Warsaw.
"
We passed tanks to Ukraine, and it was a significant number
," Duda said at the Davos Economic Forum.
The Polish president criticizes Berlin for not having delivered to his country modern tanks to compensate for those of Soviet manufacture that Poland gave to Ukraine.
The Czech Republic has also sent T-72 tanks to Ukraine and is to receive 15 Leopard 2s from Germany.
This method allows fighters to quickly obtain materials they have mastered.
German support lies in the delivery of more modern tanks to its neighbors.
But unlike the Czechs, the Poles want brand new and modern equipment.
A problem for Germany, because the Bundeswehr itself has almost no latest generation Leopard tanks.
Hence the Polish irritations.
This Tuesday, May 24, the German Foreign Minister who received her Polish counterpart declared: “
We cannot supply heavy equipment by pressing a button or snapping our fingers, especially not from German stocks
”.
Negotiations are at an impasse.
This will not improve relations between the two countries while Warsaw regularly criticizes Germany, considered too timorous in its commitment alongside Ukraine.
►Also listen
: Germany facing the arrival of the Ukrainians
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