Berlin: A dispute between Berlin and Warsaw has left Kiev without a maintenance and repair facility for its Western-supplied tanks, according to German news outlet Der Spiegel over the weekend. According to the report, the project is more than a month behind schedule due to Germany and Poland's inability to come to an agreement on the project, which was announced by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
On the eve of a gathering of Ukraine's Western backers in April at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Pistorius made the project's announcement. The minister had previously stated that the German-built Leopard tanks' repair facility would be located in Poland by the end of May.
According to Der Spiegel, the project had barely advanced by the time Pistorius and his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak signed a letter of intent at the same Ramstein meeting. The outlet claims that a number of issues have prevented Berlin and Warsaw from signing the first draught contract agreement that surfaced last week.
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The report continues that Warsaw is being blamed for the delays by major German defence companies. According to the original agreement, the state-owned PGZ company in Poland and two German tank manufacturers, Rheinmetall and KMW, were to form a joint venture. The German government was then supposed to cover the cost of repairing the tanks.
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Poland then charged "unrealistic prices" for the repair work, according to sources in the business, Der Spiegel reported. They claimed that PGZ charged over 100,000 euros for a preliminary examination of a damaged tank, despite the fact that a comparable procedure in Germany would only cost around 12,000 euros. According to reports, the Polish side declined to offer any warranties for the repairs.
According to a report from Der Spiegel, Warsaw's "unusual" demands are being driven by political manoeuvring in Poland. It stated that it is "obvious" that the project's controversy is "politically motivated." Other than the fact that Poland had accused Germany of being too slow to provide Kiev with military assistance, it did not provide any supporting evidence.
Der Spiegel added that a number of Ukrainian Leopard tanks in need of repair have already arrived in Poland.
During his visit to Poland on Monday, Pistorius spoke with Blaszczak about the subject. The German minister demanded that the project move forward quickly and added that he anticipated a resolution would be found in ten days. The negotiations, according to Blaszczak, are "not easy," and neither of the two ministers is "responsible for overseeing the industry."
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He added that one of the three "points of contention" that had been identified by the parties had been clarified. He insisted that Poland is "fully open" to working with Germany, specifically mentioning that he was aware of the "misunderstandings" described by Der Spiegel