Hints and tips:
...The US delegation was led by the White House’s Middle East adviser Brett McGurk and its Iran envoy Abram Paley....
...The first American M1 Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine in “the coming days”, a senior US military official said on Tuesday....
...Earlier this week Biden announced a $325mn aid package including air defence and additional cluster munitions and said American M1 Abrams tanks would arrive in Ukraine next week....
...Malley’s deputy Abram Paley would assume his duties as acting special envoy while he was on leave, the state department said in a statement that provided no further details....
...US defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday said Washington has expedited its timeline for delivering M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, with training to begin in Germany in the next few weeks....
...Germany has made clear that it will only send tanks if the US sends the American-made Abrams tanks, though Austin said after Friday’s meetings that Germany could go ahead without the US....
...“The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It’s expensive. It’s hard to train on. It has a jet engine.”...
...Berlin has made clear it will not commit to sending Leopard 2s unless the US follows suit with its Abrams main battle tanks, which American officials say they are not ready to do....
...However, it has so far declined to provide Abrams tanks, arguing they are harder for Ukrainian forces to fuel and maintain than the German-built Leopards....
...But Biden administration officials argue the Leopards, which are lighter and easier to maintain than the US-made Abrams tank, are better suited to the war in Ukraine....
...Kyiv has continued to ask for Nato-standard modern battle tanks, such as the US-made Abrams or the German-made Leopard 2, but officials have held off over concerns about escalation with Russia and the logistics...
...Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington...
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