US rejects Polish proposal to transfer fighter jets to German air base
Washington, Mar 8 (EFE).- The Pentagon said Tuesday that Poland’s proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to Ramstein air base in Germany to make them available to the United States is not tenable.
Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau said in a statement that his government was “ready to deploy – immediately and free of charge – all their MIG-29 jets to the Ramstein Air Base and place them at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America.”
But US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said in a statement Tuesday that “the prospect of fighter jets ‘at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America’ departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance.”
“It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it (…) we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one.”
The undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, also referred to the matter on Tuesday in an appearance in the US Senate, where she assured that Poland had not coordinated with her country.
“I was in a meeting where I ought to have heard about that just before I came (to a Senate hearing), so I think that actually was a surprise move by the Poles,” Nuland said.
Poland’s foreign minister announced that the country was prepared to deliver its fighter jets after Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki denied reports on Monday that Warsaw would directly transfer the combat planes to Ukraine.
In his message, the Polish minister did not specify that the final destination of this weaponry would be the Ukrainian Air Force.
Kirby stressed that Washington has been in contact with the Polish government since the announcement and insisted that “the decision about whether to transfer Polish-owned planes to Ukraine is ultimately one for the Polish government.”
He added that the US is consulting with its allies and partners on security assistance to Ukraine, given that “Poland’s proposal shows just some of the complexities this issue presents.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its 13th day on Tuesday, having caused the death or injury of 1,335 civilians, according to the latest count by the UN Office for Human Rights; a figure that the State Emergency Services of Ukraine raised to more than 2,000 civilian deaths. EFE
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