Day: January 23, 2023

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland will ask Germany for permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Monday.

Morawiecki didn’t specify when the request will be made. He said that Poland is building a coalition of nations ready to send Leopards.

Even if there is no permission from Germany, Warsaw will take its own decisions, he said, without elaborating.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told French TV channel LCI on Sunday that Poland hasn’t formally asked for Berlin’s approval to share some of its German-made Leopards, but added “if we were asked, we would not stand in the way.”

Regarding Baerbock’s comments, Morawiecki said that “exerting pressure makes sense” and that her words are a “spark of hope” that Germany may even take part in the coalition.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine