Representatives of the countries that own the German-made Leopard 2 tank met on the sidelines of the Ukraine contact group meeting at Ramstein air base in Germany. The meeting was called by Poland and Ukraine, according to Portugal's defense ministry.

Even as Germany has not authorized such a move, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said he hopes to create a coalition of countries of countries that own these tanks in order to send them to Ukraine.

“In Ramstein, we talked also among the 15 countries that use Leopard tanks,” Błaszczak said according to a tweet by the Polish Ministry of Defense. “Our discussion was devoted to equipping Ukraine precisely with these heavy tanks.”

Błaszczak acknowledged a decision on sending the equipment to Ukraine had yet to be agreed but added “further meetings” had been arranged. “We are consistently strengthening this coalition," the official said.

Portugal, as part of the meeting, offered "training in this typology of fighting vehicle and expressed the Portuguese government’s willingness to identify, in coordination with its partners, ways of supporting Ukraine with this capacity,” its defense ministry's statement said.

Separately, Portugal also said it pledged 14 M113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine along with eight high-power electrical generators, 120mm ammunition and medical equipment.

The ministry added that it would take part in an EU military support mission that would provide training to Ukrainian troops in Germany: Portuguese trainers will be on the ground from February to train Ukrainian soldiers on disarming explosives, combat medical assistance, nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological defense and lastly military instruction.