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Scholz vows support for Ukraine, stays vague on providing German tanks

The German chancellor fielded a question from the audience whether Ukraine could expect supplies of German Leopard 2 tanks

GENEVA, January 18. /TASS/. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday reiterated Ukraine can count on Western support for as long as it takes, but stayed vague about providing the country with German tanks.

"We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The chancellor asserted that Russia has to suffer a defeat for the armed conflict to end.

He fielded a question from the audience whether Ukraine could expect supplies of German Leopard 2 tanks. Scholz reiterated that Germany is cooperating on this issue with its allies and won’t do anything alone.

The chancellor said it was important to avoid steps that would make NATO at war with Russia.

Ukraine has long been asking Germany for Leopard 2 tanks, and the chancellor has recently been under mounting pressure to comply.

A poll by researcher YouGov that was released on December 25, which was commissioned by the DPA news service, showed that 45% of Germans opposed a delivery of the tanks to Kiev.

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Ukraine crisis Germany Olaf Scholz

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