<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The United States and its allies failed to agree on supplying coveted German battle tanks to Ukraine as Russia issued veiled threats the war could escalate in Europe.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>NATO and defence leaders from about 50 countries met at the American Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday, the latest in a series of arms-pledging conferences since Russia invaded Ukraine 11 months ago.</div><div><br></div><div>European leaders at the meeting again pressed Germany to give the green light for the delivery of German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to drive back Moscow’s forces – although no decision was made.</div><div><br></div><div>The failure to agree to provide the tanks may signal growing divisions within NATO over supplying such weapons.</div><div><br></div><div>Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius denied Berlin was unilaterally blocking the delivery of the Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, but said his government was ready to move quickly on the issue if there were consensus among allies.</div><div><br></div><div>“There are good reasons for the deliveries and there are good reasons against, and in view of the entire situation of a war that has been ongoing for almost one year, all pros and cons must be weighed very carefully,” he said, without elaborating on the reasons.</div><div><br></div><div>Pressure has been building on Berlin to provide tanks to Kyiv that Ukraine sees as key in the war against Russia.</div><div><br></div><div>The impression “there is a united coalition and that Germany is standing in the way is wrong”, Pistorius said, adding “there are many allies who say we share the view that I have put forward here.”</div><div><br></div><div>Pistorius said while there was no decision yet on whether to send the Leopard tanks, “We will make our decisions as soon as possible.”</div><div><br></div><div>“I am very sure that there will be a decision in the short term but … I don’t know how the decision will look,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Leopard tanks are seen as especially suitable as they are widely in use, meaning several countries could each chip in some of their tanks to support Ukraine. - Al Jazeera&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>