The security expert Christian Mölling has accused the federal government of not having a coherent concept for the support of the Ukraine and of creating confusion on the issue of tank deliveries for tactical reasons. In the stern podcast "Ukraine – the situation" he says on Tuesday: "There is no clear picture - and I think that's also wanted." The research director of the German Society for Foreign Relations also said that it was clear that there was no uniform line within the federal government either. It is not harmful for democracy if differences of opinion become clear. But a decision is overdue. "It should have been cleared up in Ramstein," he said of the debate about the deliveries at the meeting of Ukraine supporters at the end of last week at the US airbase in Rhineland-Palatinate.
According to Mölling, Germany has suffered considerable damage because it has not yet agreed to the delivery. He complained that there was no convincing justification for this. Literally, Mölling said: "The only thing I don't hear is: We have the big plan. And the delivery doesn't fit into this plan."
Prime Minister Olaf Scholz leaves no doubt that he will ultimately make the decision. "The chancellor not only took responsibility for guidelines at an early stage, but also retained them," said Mölling. If he agrees - and only then - "all traffic lights are green".
Mölling pointed out that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had already spoken out in favor of the tanks being delivered last year, which had been quite controversial. The new statement by the Greens politician that Germany will not stand in the way of exports from partner countries should be seen in this context. "On the one hand, that was something that was close to her heart. On the other hand, the maximum of how far she could venture out without there being a new argument." A certain degree of ambiguity is, in his estimation, something like the official government line that cannot be safely departed from. The expert said: "In fact, the Chancellery may set the level of precision and clarity that other parts of the government can have at the moment if you don't want to drive the coalition against a wall."
