Germany’s announcement that it will send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine comes after a diplomatic logjam with the United States, where German officials had openly stated that they would only send their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if the US sent the M-1 Abrams tanks.
So as the German announcement comes, the US is also finalizing plans to send approximately 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, two US officials familiar with the deliberations told CNN.
With this backdrop, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German parliament that Berlin’s relations with the US were better than they had been for a long time.
“I can tell you that the relationship between Germany and the US is on a better level than it has been for a long time. I find great agreement with the American president, who I think is a very capable, very oriented, very goal-oriented politician, especially in terms of international politics and in terms of supporting the transatlantic relationship and emphasizing good cooperation with Germany,” he said Wednesday. “This is a president who is a really good partner.”
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood and Oren Lieberman contributed to this reporting.
