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Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, will be visiting Berlin on Monday in an effort to persuade Olaf Scholz, the German counterpart, to accept Poland’s proposal of donating a squadron of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
The Leopard 2 tanks that Warsaw wants to donate to Kyiv as part of a broader international coalition were purchased from Germany and require the German government’s consent to be given to a non-Nato country.
But Morawiecki told the private RMF FM broadcaster on Saturday that he had “no idea” whether he would be able to convince Scholz to give the green light to the handing over and even if the answer is not negative, the actual decision process may take a long time.
“They are processes that require longer discussions, but the pressure must continue,”
he said.
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, announced in Lviv on Wednesday that Poland had decided to hand a company of Leopard tanks to Ukraine under a broader Western coalition. Under Nato standards, a company consists of 14 tanks.
Morawiecki said Poland was in talks with several other countries, including Finland and Denmark, asking them to join the scheme. The UK is considering handing over ten of its Challenger tanks.
The Pentagon has expressed support for Poland’s initiative.