Germany asks Switzerland to sell mothballed Leopard 2 tanks
Switzerland promises not to give them to Ukraine
Germany has asked Switzerland to sell it some of its mothballed Leopard 2 tanks, the Swiss and German governments said on Friday.
Source. Reuters
Germany wants Switzerland to sell some of the tanks back to the weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall, which will allow the company to fill the gaps in the armaments of the EU and NATO member states.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Economy Minister Robert Habeck have informed Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd of the initiative, the defense ministries of Bern and Berlin told Reuters on Friday.
In the letter, seen by Reuters, the German government said it would be very grateful if Switzerland approved the purchase of mothballed Leopard 2 tanks by Rheinmetall, as it has done in the past, if the tanks are not planned to be put back into service.
The request states that these tanks will not be sent to Ukraine, but will be used to fill the shortage of armored vehicles that the Bundeswehr has as a result of the transfer of German Leopards to Kyiv.
"The tanks will not be sold to Ukraine. We guarantee that they will remain in Germany or with our NATO and EU partners to fill the gaps created by the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and to improve the supply of spare parts in general," the letter reads.
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