Germany wants to buy back the tanks it sold to Switzerland

It is reported that Germany wants to buy the Leopard 2 main battle tanks, which it previously sold to Switzerland.

According to reports in the German press, Swiss Defense Ministry spokesman Renato Kalbermatten stated that there was a request for Germany to want to buy Leopard 2 tanks. Stating that Switzerland has 230 Leopard 2 tanks, Kalbermatten noted that 134 of them they are “in service” and 96 are temporarily out of use.

Kalbermatten, who did not provide information on how many tanks Germany wants to buy, said Swiss law allows the sale of decommissioned vehicles.

GERMANY VERIFICATION

German Defense Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz confirmed that such a request had been sent to Switzerland in a letter at the Berlin press conference, saying he would be pleased if Switzerland would consider selling its fleet’s tanks, which he was discharged. Stating that the issues related to the number were not discussed, Collatz emphasized that the Leopard 2 tanks in question would not be shipped to Ukraine.

“How can the German army concretely guarantee Switzerland that these tanks will not be delivered to the Ukraine?” Collatz asked. He replied: “There are existing and proven contractual arrangements.”

In the news of the Neuer Züricher Zeitung newspaper, it was indicated that Switzerland cannot sell the tanks directly to the German state, but to the Rheinmetall company that produces the tanks. In the news, it was stated that Rheinmetall can sell these tanks to countries that need them in Europe, and therefore it was noted that gaps in the stocks of EU countries that supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine can be filled.

Noting that it would be “in principle possible” for the Swiss Defense Ministry to give up a limited number of main battle tanks, it was emphasized that only parliamentary approval was required for this.

Germany had previously announced that it would supply Ukraine with a total of 18 more Leopard 2 A6 type main battle tanks. (AA)