German Social Democrat head: No crisis in coalition over Ukraine

The ruling German coalition is not about to break up over the issue of supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine, the head of the Social Democrats (SPD), the largest party in the coalition, said on Sunday.

"There is no coalition crisis. You will see over the weeks ahead that the government stands united," Lars Klingbeil told national public broadcaster ARD amid a debate within the three-way coalition over supplying weapons, such as tanks and artillery, to Ukraine.

The main opposition party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), has called for a vote in parliament on the issue, with CDU parliamentary leader Friedrich Merz predicting there would be a majority in favour of supplying heavy weapons on the basis of support from the two smaller coalition partners.

Klingbeil accused the CDU of disruptive tactics.

Germany is the world's fifth-largest arms exporter, but has traditionally had a restrictive policy on sending arms to conflict zones. However, Ukrainian has repeatedly called for heavy weapons, amid Russia's ongoing invasion.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also of the SPD, is facing growing criticism on the issue from within the coalition of the Greens and liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

An FDP conference over the weekend came out in favour of providing Ukraine with heavy weapons.

Klingbeil responded that the FDP motion supported the government's course of action. He called for unity and for consideration of what was best in the light of advice from military experts, as well as coordination with Germany's international partners.

German officers say that Ukrainian troops would require additional training to be able to use German tanks. They also say the German army does not have spare capacity to pass on.