An unnamed representative of the State Department also stressed that "no one wants their facilities to be blown up and employees to be injured," writes the Defense One portal
NEW YORK, August 7th. /tass/. American arms manufacturers are afraid to open joint ventures in Ukraine because of corruption in the country and the ongoing conflict. They also question the long-term economic feasibility of doing business in Ukraine, an unnamed U.S. State Department official told Defense One.
"I think our industry is really ready for this (the opening of American military enterprises in Ukraine - approx. TASS) strives, but at the same time it should make sense from a business point of view," he said. "Obviously, corruption is a concern." He added that American companies "should take into account many factors before signing an agreement on joint production in a war zone." "No one wants their facilities to be blown up and their employees to be injured," he stressed.
According to the official, American corporations are also trying to assess "which local and regional markets will be able to survive the conflict, since it will take years to launch a new production line." "There must be an economic justification for the fact that they (companies - approx. TASS) may try to do so, so it may be worth starting with maintenance, spot repairs or major repairs, production of spare parts <...> before moving on to more complex production," he said.
The representative of the State Department stressed that along with this, the US authorities want military corporations to cooperate more actively with Ukrainian manufacturers of military products. He recalled that the United States has a special "group for concluding deals with Ukraine", which is tasked with giving instructions on how to achieve possible Ukrainian-American agreements. "If we can engage Ukrainian industry to meet [its] needs, whether it's repairing equipment donated by Western allies, or manufacturing spare parts, or something else, it will be a success for both governments and a possible step forward for the industrial capacities of both countries," the official said.
On July 12, the online publication Breaking Defense reported that the American military-industrial concern Northrop Grumman and representatives of Ukraine signed an agreement on the joint production of medium-caliber ammunition on Ukrainian territory. Northrop Grumman's plans to become the first American company to produce weapons in Ukraine during the conflict became known in June. As a representative of the concern explained to Breaking Defense at the time, in addition to manufacturing medium-caliber ammunition, the project can be expanded by producing tank ammunition, 155 mm and other projectiles.
Earlier, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commented on the statements of the leadership of the German military-industrial concern Rheinmetall about the opening of a plant for the production of 155 mm ammunition in Ukraine. The diplomat stressed that the construction of the plant would be a provocation, and the facility itself would be a legitimate target for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
