BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - According to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Germany would not oppose the delivery of Leopard battle tanks from other countries to Ukraine. "We have not been asked so far and (...) if we were asked, we would not stand in the way," the Green politician told French broadcaster LCI on Sunday evening. Baerbock was responding to a question about what would happen if Poland supplied Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had previously announced that he would supply Leopards to Ukraine without Germany's consent if necessary. He told the PAP news agency: "We will not stand idly by and watch Ukraine bleed to death. Ukraine and Europe will win this war - with or without Germany." If there is no early agreement with Germany, Poland will form a "smaller coalition" with other countries, he said. Those countries would then begin supplying some of their Leopard tanks to Ukraine without German approval.

The German government has not yet made a decision on the delivery of German battle tanks to Ukraine. It also did not yet issue delivery permits to other countries for the German-made tanks. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Sunday evening on the ARD program "Anne Will" that the careful coordination process with partners was underway. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil pointed in the broadcast to the support already provided to Ukraine.

Quarrel in traffic light - SPD representatives urge prudence

Other leading SPD representatives also backed the chancellor. Statements, including by coalition members, about the chancellor in recent weeks weakened the government's policies, SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich said Sunday evening on ZDF's "heute journal." "I've held back for a long time, but I thought over the weekend this criticism, especially from a colleague who is, after all, chairman of the defense committee, was excessive."

FDP defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann had publicly attacked Scholz sharply. For example, she called the chancellor's communication on the tank issue a "disaster." Mützenich then warned against snap-action politics. On ZDF, he said, "The Chancellor bears the responsibility and not those who tweet day in and day out and go ahead with any advice. I believe that the chancellor also performs his duties very clearly, but also in a very balanced way." However, Scholz and the SPD also received pressure from the other coalition partner, the Greens.

The deputy SPD faction vice Dirk Wiese also took Scholz in defense. He told the "Rheinische Post" (Monday), "Within the traffic light coalition, we are working together constructively and in coordination under the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in this challenging situation. However, individual divergences should also not be overstated." Wiese added: "Rather, one should now keep one's nerve and basically not make decisions based on gut instinct."

Opposition sees traffic light in separation process

The First Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei, sees the coalition at breaking point. "The scenes that are playing out right now in the traffic light coalition are reminiscent of divorce proceedings," Frei told Bild (Monday). CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen told the newspaper, "The FDP and Greens must ask themselves whether they are willing to share responsibility for this failure against their own convictions." He said the alliance blockade by Scholz and the SPD meant "that Germany is failing at a crucial point in a historic test of war in Europe."/seb/DP/zb