BERLIN, January 20. /TASS/. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius believes that the issue of re-exporting German tanks to Ukraine will become more clear following the meeting at the US Ramstein base in Germany.

"It will become more clear in the coming hours or tomorrow," he told the ARD television channel on Thursday night, when asked whether Berlin will grant its permission for re-exports. "I’m sure that some kind of decision will be made in the coming days. For now, I cannot tell you exactly what decision will be made."

Western defense ministers will gather at the US Ramstein Base in Germany on January 20 to discuss further military assistance to Kiev, primarily, the handover of Leopard tanks. The German delegation will be led by the country’s newly appointed Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

Germany’s Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said on Wednesday, citing its own sources, that the country’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz had said in a phone call with US President Joe Biden that Berlin would agree to authorize Leopard-2 tank supplies to Kiev only if Washington sent Abrams tanks to Ukraine. According to the paper, the US leader did not unequivocally confirm Washington’s plans to provide the tanks to Kiev during the call.