German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock admitted that the "circular swap" plan for indirect arms deliveries to Ukraine is not working as planned.
In response to criticisms, the Green politician said, "In a situation like this, nobody deceives their European neighbor," on Friday evening at "The Right Questions" event organized by the mass-circulation Bild daily.
She rejected the sharp criticism from the Polish government, which recently accused Germany of breaking its word and of deception in the plan involving tanks.
The situation is unsatisfactory for both sides. But in war, one does not always know immediately which is the perfect way. And the circular swap – where Poland sends Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine, and Germany or other allies provide the Polish with newer replacements – was initiated because it seemed to be "the best and quickest way at the time."
The idea was to make it possible for Ukrainian soldiers to quickly obtain heavy military equipment that they were used to handling without extensive training.
But Warsaw is anything but satisfied with the result. "The German promises on the circular tank swap have turned out to be a deceptive maneuver," Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk told Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine.
First, the Germans had offered the Poles tanks "that were older than those (Poland) gave to Ukraine."
"(This offer was) unacceptable, because we have no interest in deteriorating the condition of our armament and training our soldiers on equipment from the 60s," he said, adding that is why they are now relying on the help of other NATO partners.
"From the very beginning it was clear that of course, we cannot replace every single tank overnight with a snap of our fingers," Baerbock replied to the accusations from Poland. "Of course, they can say we want more from you, but nevertheless the tanks they have can also be delivered directly to Ukraine."
Since the exchange program is obviously not going as planned, the German government is now examining "why this is obviously not happening," and whether it has to provide "other support."
Baerbock said that arms assistance to Ukraine was not only about tanks but also about other heavy equipment. "I have made it clear several times that we have to look at how we can provide more support for artillery," she said.
