The United States on Tuesday (March 8) rejected Poland’s offer to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US airbase, saying it was “not tenable” as the proposal raised “serious concerns” for the entire NATO alliance.
“Poland… is ready to deliver its Mig-29 planes to Ramstein airbase (in Germany) and make them available to the US for free and without delay,” Warsawearlier said.
Zbigniew Rau, Poland’s foreign minister, had said that his government was “ready to deploy – immediately and free of charge – all their MiG-29 jets to the Ramstein airbase and place them at the disposal of the government of the United States of America”.
However, under a reported deal, Poland would receive F-16 fighters as replacements for the Soviet-era planes that Ukrainian pilots are trained on.
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the prospect of the jets flying from a US-NATO base “into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance.”
“We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one,” Kirby said in a statement.
“It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it,” he added.
Kirby stressed that Washington’s stance was that “the decision about whether to transfer Polish-owned planes to Ukraine is ultimately one for the Polish government.”
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It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it. We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one. (4/4)
— John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) March 8, 2022
Previously, US officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had downplayed the possibility of any NATO country supplying besieged Ukraine.
While speaking in Moldova on Sunday, Blinken confirmed it was under active discussion
“Can’t speak to a timeline, but I can just say we’re looking at it very, very actively,” he told reporters.
“We are looking actively now at the question of aeroplanes that Poland may provide to Ukraine and looking at how we might be able to backfill should Poland decide to supply those planes,” he said.
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(With inputs from agencies)
