Germany pushed to front in ally's proxy war

White House Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told ABC News on Sunday that Germany told US President Joe Biden that it would not supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine unless the United States also agreed to send Abrams tanks.

Those remarks were immediately rebutted by the German government, which said that the decision to supply battle tanks was "a joint approach".

Whether or not there was a package deal or a demand that one must happen so that the other can happen, the continuing to and fro between Berlin and Washington on the matter, reflects Berlin's worry that it will be seen as the leading henchman of the US in the eyes of Moscow. Providing such modern offensive weapons undoubtedly marks the deeper involvement of Germany in the crisis.

Despite the word game Berlin and Washington are playing, it is true that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had long hesitated to respond to Kyiv's request for modern tanks for that very reason. Biden also shares that concern. Announcing the US would provide Ukraine with tanks in January, he insisted that the US tanks should not be viewed by Moscow as an "offensive threat".

That concern proved to be justified. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech early last month in Volgograd, known as Stalingrad during World War II, "Once again, we are threatened with German leopard tanks with crosses on their sides."

That's exactly what Berlin doesn't want — the US pushing Germany to the front in its proxy war against Russia.

And the tech-savvy Germans cannot deny that although Leopards and Abrams tanks are regarded as the best tanks today, the latter are more complicated to operate and require more maintenance and support. That's why the pressure was mainly on Germany to provide Ukraine with tanks rather than the US.

Scholz is scheduled to visit Washington on Friday, his first visit to the US since the Ukraine conflict broke out one year ago, and his host will certainly try to push Germany even further to the fore.