KYIV/BERLIN, Jan 19 (Reuters) – The United States and Germany tried on Thursday to resolve a stand-off that has so far prevented the West from sending heavy tanks to Ukraine, as Kyiv pleaded for the weapons help it to turn the tide against Russian forces.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Germany’s new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius talked in Berlin just hours after Pistorius was sworn into office.
But there was no word on whether they had resolved differences that could see Berlin block Western plans to send Kyiv heavy tanks when dozens of allies gather on Friday at Ramstein, Washington’s main European air base.
Billions of dollars worth of military aid is expected to be pledged at the Ramstein meeting, billed as a chance for the West to give Ukraine what it needs to defeat Russia in 2023.
Countries including Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden have already announced armoured vehicles and air defences.
But the big question will be whether the meeting brings heavy tanks, which Kyiv says it needs to fend off Russian assaults and recapture occupied land.
