In an interview, the parliamentary state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defense spoke of NATO’s decision not to deliver infantry fighting vehicles or battle tanks to Ukraine. This causes astonishment among many experts – and triggers a debate about precise definitions.
Did Siemtje Möller (SPD) lie or not? The parliamentary state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defense caused quite a stir with an interview on “Berlin Direct” on ZDF.
The deputy said there several times: “First of all, we have stuck together in the NATO alliance with all Western nations, the decision will also be taken jointly that no armored personnel carriers or battle tanks of Western models will be delivered.”
So a NATO decision? Some defense experts, including the head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Jana Puglierin, publicly wrote to Möller on Twitter and asked for clarification.
Möller also delivered it – and after a discussion about terms and definitions of weapon types, Puglierin finally agreed. In fact, Germany and the allies did not supply any western-style armored personnel carriers or main battle tanks, but they did supply heavy weapons.
On the other hand, the statement as to whether there was a NATO resolution in this regard continued to raise questions. Because: Many deputies and members of the Defense Committee said they had not been informed about such a thing before. A NATO spokesman told the “Bild”: “The delivery of certain military goods is a national decision. Allies continue to provide significant military assistance to Ukraine, including Western equipment.”
The statement does not explicitly mention tanks, only “equipment” – and the West does indeed supply it. And: The fact that the states decide individually what they deliver and what not does not necessarily mean that there are no agreements between the NATO countries – on a bilateral or multilateral level – regarding battle tanks or armored personnel carriers.
The opposition, of course, railed against the communication of the traffic lights – and the information of the Federal Ministry of Defense in particular. The CDU defense expert Johann Wadephul told the “Bild”: “There are chaos days in the Lambrecht house”.
