On Wednesday, following a coordinated announcement by the US and Germany to provide Ukraine with battle tanks, Joe Biden lauded Olaf Scholz from Roosevelt's White House room..

“Germany really stepped up and the Chancellor was strong, there was a strong voice of unity,” he said..

Earlier that day in Berlin, Scholz was equally enthusiastic about his American counterpart: they say that relations with Washington are better than they have ever been, and with Biden in general “perfect harmony”.

Planned deliveries of US-built M1 Abrams tanks and German Leopard tanks were greeted with joy in Kyiv and relief in Western capitals - a potential new turning point in the transatlantic response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion.

However, this breakthrough, writes the Financial Times, was accompanied by tense negotiations and political turns in both Berlin and Washington.. It became a test of the strength of the US-German relationship as a fundamental pillar of the Western alliance.. These events also underlined that despite talk of taking on a leadership role in the world, Europe is still deeply dependent on America as a guarantor of its security..

“There is Western politics, but no European. Everyone is looking towards Washington,” says Liana Fix, a staff member at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York..

For many in Washington, the dispute also highlighted the difficulties associated with dealing with Germany, a nation still burdened by its history and reticent about demonstrating hard power alongside other NATO allies at a time when they face the West's greatest security threat in decades..

“Germany is one of – if not the most important – European ally of the US, and we need to maintain this relationship.. But Germany is still a teenager when it comes to their security and defense policy, so there are certain growth challenges,” says Rachel Rizzo, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council European Center.

The tension was based on a policy that Scholz, a quiet but ardent social democrat, adhered to with the same persistence. He insisted that he would not send Leopards to Ukraine until the US also sent their Abrams tanks.. A January 17 conversation between the two leaders exposed differences and set the stage for this week's deal..

Biden explained that the United States is in no hurry to provide Abrams to Ukraine due to logistical and technical difficulties with the delivery of these tanks.. Scholz objected that in matters of transferring weapons to Kyiv, the United States and Germany always acted in concert.. The implication was clear: Germany would not budge on the issue of providing tanks until the United States did the same..

German officials said the approach had precedent.

“Each time we decided to send Ukraine a new category of weapons, we always synchronized our announcements with our closest allies, primarily from the United States,” one of them explained..

Biden promised to return to the issue, and later that day he met with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his national security adviser Jake Sullivan to find a solution..

“It was important for the president to maintain unity and succeed in the interests of Ukraine,” said a White House spokesman..

Further, according to him, a stage of negotiations took place under the leadership of Sullivan: mainly with Jens Plotner, his German counterpart, at which the parties found out what needs to be done to reach an agreement.

“We were looking for how to do this, and Sullivan worked to ensure that the European contribution was as significant as possible,” the official added..

The public confrontation continued. During a meeting with a group of American lawmakers in Davos on January 18, the German chancellor reiterated his position.

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At the heart of the German approach was the belief that by acting together on the issue of tanks, the Western Allies would reduce the risk of Russian revenge..

“This means that no country will face criticism of Russia personally – those aggressive verbal mockery and threats that we hear all the time,” says Social Democrat leader Lars Klingbeil..

However, on Friday last week, when US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Ramstein Air Force Base in western Germany, tensions on both sides grew over the lack of an agreement..

The Ramstein meeting was intended as a show of Western unity, so the Allies had high hopes that Germany would use it to announce the Leopards were being sent.. But there was no breakthrough, sparking a wave of frustration from Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltics, and fueling Washington's push for a compromise on Abrams..

Meanwhile, legislators on Capitol Hill were increasingly overwhelmed with anxiety..

“My impression is that the Minister of Defense went to Ramstein and nothing has changed because the Germans have not changed their position.. He came back and may have heard the voices of some of us in Congress saying, \! ', says Moulton..

As early as Monday, U.S. officials publicly belittled the need to send Abrams, but it was a pivotal day in the talks.. Sullivan and Plotner spoke three times, subsequently Sullivan, Austin and Mark Milley, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Biden to receive final guidance on the talks.. Meanwhile, Austin submitted a new proposal to the president that " Biden approved the deal on Tuesday.

Scholz's approach caused controversy even in Germany. Some in his three-party coalition worried about the damage he might do to US-German relations.. Insisting on the Abrams as conditions for unblocking the supply of German tanks, Scholz " It's like a tail wagging a dog,"

Biden on Wednesday dismissed any suggestion that he was pressured by Scholz..

“It was not Germany that made me change my mind. We wanted to make sure we're all together,"

The agreement confirmed Biden's approach to Scholz, often described as " The US avoids any public pressure or criticism of Germany due to its unwillingness to take certain steps: whether it be sanctions or military assistance..

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Wolfgang Ischinger, the former German ambassador to Washington, said Biden's reversal meant Scholz could present the result as a success for the German public, which polls show is deeply divided over the appropriateness of sending tanks to Ukraine.. But he warns that long and painful discussions on the issue have further damaged Germany's image..

“Scholz’s approach – his tactics and procrastination – is perceived by many as a disadvantage, not an asset,” notes Ischinger..

“It was not an easy decision for Germany to make and we must respect that,” says Heather Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund USA.

“However, we are in an endless cycle of hesitation, pushing, coaxing allies who provide weapons to try to advance the cause.. And we're waiting, waiting, waiting. This constant cycle, it drains allies, it drains unity,” she added..

Officials in Berlin said the disappointment voiced by some allies was unfair, as Germany is one of Ukraine's biggest military aid providers after the United States.. The country also has its own particularly sensitive attitude towards tanks, which, according to Germany, the allies did not understand..

“If tanks with German crosses appear on the battlefield, Putin can say: look, I have been talking about this all the time, NATO is interfering in this war. This thesis of RT [Russia Today] has a great resonance in Latin America and Africa, and we must reckon with it, ”said one of the officials.

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Samuel Charap, senior political scientist at Rand Corp, believes that the coordinated announcement about tanks, which Scholz's allies in Berlin mark as a great success for German diplomacy, is "

“Managing an alliance is not easy. Washington demonstrated to Berlin that for the sake of these relations it is ready to do what it would not do under other circumstances.. This is what it takes to make these things work,” he stressed..