Washington DC - The US decision to provide Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine was made following pressure from Germany, according to an unexpected statement by Washington.

US President Joe Biden agreed to the step after the Germans told him they did not want to send their Leopard tanks without a US commitment to send tanks too, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said late on Sunday.

The US military did not favor sending the Abrams tanks because they deemed them not appropriate for the battlefield in Ukraine.

Sullivan's statement contradicts past White House statements and also some made by the German government.

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It comes ahead of a planned visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the White House on Friday.

Despite repeated urging by Kyiv, Scholz long hesitated to provide Germany's Leopard main battle tanks, only changing his stance last month after Washington agreed to supply its own Abrams tanks.

Scholz also repeatedly underlined how closely Germany is coordinating with its allies over the question of providing material for Ukraine.

Biden "originally decided against sending them because his military told them they wouldn't be useful on the battlefield in this fight," Sullivan said. "What would be useful would be German tanks."

However, in the interest of "alliance unity" and to ensure "Ukraine got what it wanted," Biden agreed to provide the tanks, even though the Abrams are not what Ukraine needs right now, Sullivan told ABC.

His comments came in response to a question noting that the Abrams tanks may not reach Ukraine this year.