Joe Biden will not deliver F-16 jets to Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron does not rule out fighter jet deliveries, but sets conditions.
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the essentials in brief
- In the fighter jet debate, Biden denies wanting to supply Ukraine with F-16 jets.
- He joins Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who excludes the delivery.
- Emmanuel Macron does not do this, but sets conditions.
The United States will not deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to President Joe Biden. When asked by a reporter: “Will the United States provide Ukraine with F-16s?” Biden replied “No” in Washington on Monday.
So far, it has been said that the US government has not ruled out any particular weapon system and is aligning support with what Ukraine needs. It will be “discussed very carefully”, it said last Friday.
The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, had called for modern fighter jets to defend against the Russian war of aggression. The allies should set up a strong fighter jet coalition, with US F-16s and F-35s, Eurofighters and Tornados, French Rafales and Swedish Gripen jets. Melnyk is now Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had ruled out the delivery of fighter jets after the promise of Leopard 2 main battle tanks last week.
Should Ukraine’s Western Allies Provide Fighter Jets?
The situation is different in Paris: “In principle, nothing is forbidden,” said President Emmanuel Macron when asked about possible jet deliveries from France. However, delivered weapons should not have an escalating effect, touch Russian soil or weaken the French army. Macron also made it clear that no “official request” had come from Kyiv.
