Netherlands to sell Leopard tanks to Finland

The Netherlands would sell 100 used Leopard tanks to Finland, Dutch media reported Thursday. The contract is likely to be signed next year after negotiations with Finland were completed in January. According to the media report, Finland will purchase the battle tanks for 200 to 250 million euros. Dutch Defense Minister Antoinette Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert confirmed the deal Wednesday in the Dutch TV show, Pauw & Witteman. "It is almost certain," she said, but refused to talk about further details, which she claimed to be confidential. The Dutch Leopard tanks have been mothballed since 2011 due to budget cuts. An attempt to sell 80 of them to Indonesia for about 200 million euros was blocked last year by the Dutch parliament due to concerns about the human rights situation in Indonesia. Indonesia later bought similar tanks from Germany. The Finish army already has Leopard 2 tanks, which are an older type than the Dutch 2A6 Leopard tanks.