BERLIN/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - There is a rift in the traffic light coalition over the Leopard 2 tank poker game, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz continues to remain silent. After the Franco-German summit in Paris, he still did not indicate when he would make his decision on the delivery of German battle tanks to Ukraine and on what he would make it dependent. French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the delivery of Leclerc battle tanks, but did not want to commit himself yet either. Meanwhile, in Berlin, coalition politicians made serious accusations against each other.

FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann called the chancellor's communication on the tank issue a "disaster" and warned against underestimating Russian brutality. "In eastern Ukraine, there is not the Bolshoi Ballet dancing "Swan Lake,"" she said Saturday at a state party conference in Bielefeld. "There are soldiers standing there, murdering, raping, abducting and many more terrible things - they also torture."

Mützenich accuses Strack-Zimmermann of "gasping for breath"

SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich sharply rejected the accusations of the chairwoman of the defense committee, saying, "Ms. Strack-Zimmermann and others are talking us into a military conflict. The same people who call for going it alone with heavy battle tanks today will be clamoring for aircraft or troops tomorrow," he told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "You don't make a policy in times of war in Europe in the style of indignation rituals or with gasps, but with clarity and reason."

Scholz and the SPD also received pressure from their other coalition partner, the Greens. The chairman of the Europe Committee in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter (Greens), told the newspapers of the Funke-Mediengruppe (Monday) that the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopard must begin "now immediately" to avoid further delays.

Hofreiter calls Ramstein hesitation "considerable mistake"

At the Ukraine conference in Ramstein on Friday, Germany had not yet decided to deliver battle tanks to the war zone, despite considerable pressure from its allies. The German government also did not yet issue a delivery permit to other countries for the German-made tanks. Hofreiter said: "Germany made a major mistake at Ramstein and lost further prestige as a result. This must now be corrected quickly."

Allies also kept up the pressure on Scholz. The foreign ministers of the Baltic countries called on Germany to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine. "This is necessary to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and quickly restore peace in Europe," Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics wrote on Twitter on Saturday - saying he was also speaking on behalf of his counterparts from Estonia and Lithuania. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the BBC on Sunday, "I'd like nothing better than to see the Ukrainians equipped with Leopard 2s."

Poland won't "stand idly by and watch Ukraine bleed to death"

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced he would supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine without Germany's approval if necessary. He told the PAP news agency on Sunday, "We will not stand idly by as Ukraine bleeds to death. Ukraine and Europe will win this war - with or without Germany." If there is no early agreement with Germany, Poland will form a "smaller coalition" with other countries, he said. These countries would then start supplying some of their Leopard tanks to Ukraine without German consent.

The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported that the U.S. is also angry about Germany's stance. U.S. President Joe Biden's security adviser, Jake Sullivan, had called the chancellor's adviser, Jens Plötner, to protest. In the U.S. administration, the protest is described as fierce, the newspaper writes.

Scholz reiterates: 'only closely coordinated with each other'

In Paris, Scholz further left open whether he would make the delivery of Leopard 2s dependent on whether the Americans deliver their M1 Abrams. "We are only acting in close coordination with each other," he merely reiterated. Macron said, "As for the Leclerc, nothing is ruled out." However, he said, a provision of these main battle tanks must not escalate the conflict, must not weaken the country's own defense capabilities, and must be a realistic and efficient support to Ukraine.

The U.S. does not believe that providing its Abrams would be practical for practical reasons. The U.S. tanks would first have to be transported across the Atlantic, maintenance is more costly, and they consume too much fuel, they say. The tanks guzzle jet fuel kerosene, not diesel like the Leopard and many of the Ukrainians' companions.

Russia warns of "tragedy of global proportions"

Russian parliamentary leader Vyacheslav Volodin warned of a possible "tragedy of global proportions" in the event of battle tank deliveries to Ukraine. "The delivery of offensive weapons to the Kiev regime will lead to a global catastrophe," Volodin wrote Sunday on his channel on the Telegram messaging service. He said Russia would use even "more powerful weapons" if the United States and NATO countries supplied arms to Kiev that could be used to retake territories./mfi/DP/jha