BERLIN, July 21. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the United States had pledged to replace Patriot air defense systems, handed over by Germany and other EU countries to Ukraine, and details of an agreement are now being discussed.
"There is general consent of the US government to give us Patriot systems, and we, in turn, will deliver our Patriot systems to Ukraine. In other words, our delivery will be replaced. But this replacement is yet to be purchased. At present, we are in talks with the US administration on where this replacement will come from," Merz said at a joint news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Berlin.
"However, the US administration gave its consent in principle that we will receive the replacement," Merz said, adding that the details will be agreed by defense ministers.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told a virtual meeting of the Ukraine contact group on Monday that Berlin can provide five Patriot systems within a very short timeframe. According to Bild, US President Donald Trump demanded that Germany provide Kiev with Patriot systems from its own arsenals.
On July 14, Trump said that Washington will continue transferring weapons and military equipment to Kiev if Europe pays for the supplies. NATO will coordinate the process. According to the head of the White House, the deliveries will include 17 Patriot systems.