German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht discussed a potential delivery of German-made tanks from Spain to Ukraine with her Spanish colleague Margarita Robles on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid, dpa learned on Thursday.
Earlier in June, reports had claimed that Germany vetoed a Spanish delivery of heavy weaponry to Ukraine that would have included around 40 tanks of the Leopard 2 A4 type, of which 108 were sold from Germany to Spain in 1995.
Arms deals between countries often include a clause stipulating that the seller must be consulted if the buyer is to hand the weapons on to a third party.
In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Lambrecht said however that she had not received an official request by the Spanish government concerning the tank deliveries.
According to sources, it became clear in the course of the conversation between Lambrecht and Robles that Spain had not yet decided whether to deliver the tanks to Ukraine.
War becoming 'more brutal'
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Madrid that Germany was looking for ways to provide more support to Ukraine.
"Given that the war is continuing and growing more brutal by the day, we made it clear here at the NATO summit that we are assessing the manner of our support for Ukraine every day," Baerbock said when asked about the potential Leopard tank deliveries.
