Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte mentioned Monday that his nation stays open to sending fighter jets to Ukraine.
“In the Netherlands, we don’t see any taboos, we don’t rule anything out, and we consult intensively with our partners. But at the moment, no decisions have been made to train pilots for combat aircraft with us. Nothing has been decided here yet,” Rutte mentioned at a joint press convention with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz within the Dutch port metropolis of Rotterdam.
Last month, the Ukrainian authorities formally requested the Netherlands for American-made F-16 fighter jets.
The Netherlands is phasing out its F-16 fleet. It has 24 F-16s however plans to do away with them by subsequent yr because it switches over to the next-generation F-35. In 2021, it offered 12 planes again to the US to make use of as trainers.
Ukraine has been urgent the US and its European allies to supply fighter jets as high Ukrainian officers have stepped up their public lobbying marketing campaign in current weeks, arguing that they want the planes to defend in opposition to Russian missile and drone assaults.
But that push has been met with skepticism by the US and allied officers, who say the jets could be impractical as a result of they require appreciable coaching and Russia has in depth anti-aircraft techniques that might simply shoot them down.
When beforehand requested if the US could be offering F-16s to Ukraine, President Joe Biden responded with a flat “no.”
The US and its Western allies additionally consider that delivering new fighter jets to Ukraine would danger an escalation between NATO and Russia.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
