Report: Germany ready to help Israel acquire new submarines

BERLIN - Germany is ready to help Israel acquire two new submarines and modernize three older vessels, German Defense Minister Peter Struck was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

In an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper released ahead of publication on Thursday, Struck also said Germany planned to accelerate the purchase of four new frigates for its own use.

"We are of course ready to help Israel's acquisition, and support it ... The exact details now need to be clarified in a working group of both ministries," Struck was quoted as saying. Germany financed and supplied Israel with three submarines in the 1990s.

Struck said financing from Germany's stretched defense budget for the new vessels was out of the question, but that the economy ministry was examining how to facilitate a deal.

	German Defense Minister Peter Struck, who was quoted as saying Wednesday that Germany is ready to help Israel acquire two new submarines. (Archive)