Blinken: The US recognizes the sovereignty of every country in the supply of tanks to Ukraine

WASHINGTON, January 18 – RIA Novosti. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US recognizes the sovereign right of each country to decide on the supply of tanks to Ukraine.

Blinken stressed that the decision to supply certain types of weapons to Kiev is a “sovereign decision” of each country.

At the same time, he reminded that in the coming days, under the chairmanship of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, NATO representatives in Germany will hold a meeting on aid to Ukraine. “As a result, I would have expected additional announcements (related to military supplies) to be made,” Blinken said.

Earlier, Politico newspaper wrote that France and Poland forced Germany to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine. German Cabinet spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that the German government does not intend to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in turn, said that Germany will continue to coordinate its actions with its allies, and there will be no hasty decisions.

Russia had previously sent a note to NATO countries for arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reported that NATO countries were “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping weapons into Ukraine from the West does not contribute to the success of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect.