By KYIV. Jan 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Finland has not yet worked out a decision to send tanks to Ukraine and is awaiting the actions of other countries, the Yle portal said on Tuesday.
"According to the Yle source, Finland has not yet made any decisions on the transfer of battle tanks to Ukraine. But if a group of several countries appears ready to transfer tanks to Ukraine, Finland will consider participating in these deliveries," according to the statement.
The Finnish political leadership is waiting for decisions from Germany and other major countries. Finland will not be the first to decide on the transfer of tanks.
The Defense Forces currently have about 200 Leopard tanks in service. Finland could only transfer a limited number of tanks to Ukraine, as the authorities believe they are needed for their own defense.
At the beginning of the year, Defense Minister Mikko Savola said Finland was preparing the 12th military aid package for Ukraine, but declined to talk about its content.
On Sunday, at a security policy conference in the Swedish city of Sälen, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told Yle that he would not comment on the issue because Finland did not disclose what weapons it was transferring to Ukraine.
According to him, Finland should follow what the big countries are doing.
