The tank deliveries to Ukraine are a success for Olaf Scholz. But that was apparently only possible because Joe Biden was less stubborn than the chancellor.
Scholz was apparently quite stubborn in the talks. At least the transatlantic step was so important to him that the government in Washington finally gave in. To put it simply, the balance can be drawn: President Joe Biden was more concerned with preventing the anti-Russia alliance from breaking than with remaining stubborn himself.
After numerous phone calls between Berlin and Washington, the big turning point came in the USA: Suddenly everything seemed feasible. 31 Abrams are now to be shipped. This corresponds to the strength of a Ukrainian tank company. However, it could be months before the heavy device actually arrives.
Biden praised the Chancellor in a public statement for his change of course: Scholz was a “strong voice for unity” and “a close friend”. But in the tank wrangling between the German and American governments, it became clear again that the USA actually expects more independence from Europe. Once again, however, it became clear to the White House that the partners are not ready yet.
The Chancellor needed guarantees
A senior government official on the National Security Council expressed on Wednesday how concerned the Americans were that the common line in the Ukraine alliance could break.
In an interview with journalists, he explained the surprising change in strategy: “The unity within the alliance and with our partners was very important to us.” The conversation also made it clear that the White House must have realized that the German government needs guarantees before it supplies tanks to Ukraine.
Which means the chancellor will give his okay as soon as the US has gone ahead. That’s why reports first leaked out on Tuesday that the Americans were ready to deliver their Abrams. A little later, the green light came for the Leopard 2 from Germany.
unity and dependency
The fact that the USA again agreed to move forward shows that they wanted to maintain internal and external unity at all costs. It is at the core of the success so far against Russian aggression. “We have tried to make them a hallmark of everything we have done for Ukraine during the 11 months of this conflict,” said the senior government official.
On the one hand, Abrams as an American reinsurance company is a great success for Scholz. Not only in the German, but also in the US media, the Chancellor is accordingly praised.
Because the White House is aware of the symbolism of American tanks that will soon be used against Russian soldiers, Joe Biden repeated the decisive sentence for the television cameras: “This does not pose a threat of attack for Russia.” It is the necessary clarification of a superpower with which Russia wants to see itself on an equal footing.
The Chancellor did not utter a comparable sentence in his speech in the Bundestag on Wednesday. This proves that the Abrams are also an expression of the fact that Germany and Europe are far from ready to take care of their own security. Which consequently also means that the Ukraine would probably no longer be Ukrainian without the support of the Americans.
German success and American expectation
This conclusion is sobering for the USA. After all – as it is now seen in many places in Washington – Germany is surprisingly on the right track. The “turning point” announced by Scholz at the end of February is now even being accepted across party lines in the US capital.
