Spiegel: Germany in talks to persuade India to sell aid to Ukraine

German officials are holding secret talks with India to purchase ammunition for Ukraine.

According to Spiegel, an informal group of officers, diplomats and civil servants from the chancellery, finance and economic departments meet in Berlin every two weeks.

They brainstorm which countries to approach seeking aid for Ukraine, which might still have stockpiles of munitions, and how to convince them.

According to government sources, almost any proposal is fair game in these negotiations, regardless of how implausible it may seem at first glance.

India, for example, still has relatively large stockpiles of artillery shells totalling several hundred thousand rounds, according to insiders. But the Indian government, which still maintains cordial relations with Moscow, will not admit to wanting to sell any, if it is indeed willing.

"As a result, covert negotiations are underway to see if the ammunition can be obtained through intermediaries," the article says.

Similar deals, Berlin says, are possible with Arab countries, some of which have large stockpiles. The experts say that there are also states in the Balkans and Africa that still have stockpiles – or may even produce new ammunition.

In a conversation with Dimytro Kuleba, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell promised to supply Ukraine with almost 170,000 shells by the end of March.

In March 2023, the EU reached an agreement to provide Ukraine with one million rounds of ammunition in a year's time, but did not reach this goal. As of now, the EU has provided 355,000 rounds and plans to provide 1,155,000 by the end of the year. 

Earlier this week, the EU's top diplomat sent a letter to the foreign ministers and defence ministers of member states calling for everything possible to be done to provide Ukraine with the ammunition.