"...Germany concluded a 270 million euro government-to-government agreement with Greece for the sale of 183 used Leopard 2 A4 and 150 Leopard 1 A5 main battle tanks." "A potential sale to Turkey likely would raise more objections among German politicians than the Greek deal."
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1021283&C=europe Posted 08/15/05 14:51 Surplus Tank Sales Raise Controversy By MARTIN AG�ERA, MUNICH Having laid its military transformation plans, Berlin is selling materiel it no longer needs to allies and partners, officials said. Berlin talked to South Korea in recent weeks about selling eight Patriot air-defense missile systems for 300 million to 400 million euros ($370.6 million to $494.2 million). Germany sold a Patriot system to Spain last year and has leased several to Israel. On Aug. 4, Germany concluded a 270 million euro government-to-government agreement with Greece for the sale of 183 used Leopard 2 A4 and 150 Leopard 1 A5 main battle tanks. Under the current government coalition of Social Democrats and Greens, the sale of weapon systems usually is a controversial topic. The deal that was struck between a German Ministry of Defense (MoD) delegation and the South Korean government over the Patriots resulted in some heavy debates on whether Berlin could allow the sale. A Berlin defense industry source said the surplus tank sale could spur similar debate because Germany also has been in talks with Turkey over the sale of used Leopard 2 tanks. A potential sale to Turkey likely would raise more objections among German politicians than the Greek deal. �However, it is not quite understandable that there is a big difference between the two countries since both are NATO allies,� said the source. Due to previous human rights issues in Turkey, Germany�s current government has taken a cautious stance toward defense cooperation with Ankara. Equal Treatment for Turkey But in recent weeks, as the deal with Greece became apparent, Social Democrats in parliament such as Verena Wohlleben, a member of the Bundestag�s Defense Committee, said the government also should allow the sale of tanks to Turkey. Wohlleben told reporters that Berlin would have to treat both countries, which are neighbors and rivals, equally. �What you give to Greece, you also have to give to Turkey,� she said. Ankara in the past expressed interest in buying roughly 1,000 used main battle tanks from Germany, but the delivery of one test vehicle to Turkey in 1999 split the Red-Green coalition over the sale. Ankara remains interested in buying German tanks, though the final number may be smaller, said other Berlin-based industry sources with knowledge of the talks. The German Defense Ministry is only �in talks� with Turkey, said one ministry official, �but these talks are still ongoing.� In 2003, Germany�s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) sold Athens 170 new Leopard 2 HEL tanks for more than 1.6 billion euros. That deal also included building a substantial infrastructure in Greece, KMW spokes-man Christoph M�ller said, but under the current agreement KMW will supply a maintenance package worth 150 million euros. The surplus tanks will be delivered later this year through next year, he added. This year also will see some of the first new tanks for Greece roll off the assembly line. �We will do the maintenance but also deliver special work tools to Greece,� said M�ller. Such special tools will be necessary since most Leopard 2 tanks have been stored in German depots and likely need extensive overhauls. �For us here, the agreement between Greece and Germany is significant because it gives a signal that the topic �main battle tank� continues to live,� said M�ller. �Today�s military missions are complex and especially soldiers on the ground rely not only on protection measures, they also have to be enforcing. The Leopard tank helps them to achieve that.� ⢠E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hpueed6/M=362329.6886306.7839369.3040540/D=groups/S=1705323667:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1124157497/A=2894321/R=0/SIG=11dvsfulr/*http://youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=1992 ">Fair play? Video games influencing politics. 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