Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that the parties are trying to settle the existing contradictions on this issue. LONDON, May 9.
/tass/. The Netherlands is discussing the possibility of transferring F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from the United States, as well as European partners, including the United Kingdom and Denmark. This was stated to journalists on Tuesday by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is on a visit to Brazil.
"We are conducting an intensive dialogue with Denmark, the United Kingdom, some other European countries, as well as with the United States about the F-16," Rutte said, quoted by Reuters. According to him, the parties are trying to settle the existing contradictions on this issue.
The Prime Minister stressed that the West should continue to provide assistance to Ukraine. He explained this by saying that in the event of Kiev's defeat, the conflict with Russia "will not end there." Rutte added that after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation, European capitals began to worry about their own security and the need to protect democratic values.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba earlier made the statement that some European colleagues "took up the issue of providing Kiev with American F-16 fighters." However, the West carefully comments on the idea of transferring combat aircraft to Kiev, and the Ukrainian authorities themselves admit that this "will not happen quickly." According to John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council, the United States is still not considering the issue of supplying F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. US President Joe Biden also noted that the transfer of American fighter jets to Kiev "is not a priority right now."