The foreign minister announced on Monday that Portugal is available to train Ukrainian pilots in the use of F-16 fighters, also indicating that there is no availability to send aircraft for the time being.
“Portugal is open to this opportunity. We have very good pilots and trainers, and they are available to work with colleagues from other countries who also have F-16s to train Ukrainian pilots”said João Gomes Cravinho after a meeting of European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Brussels.
Sending the F-16s that the Portuguese Air Force has is a “question that is not on the table”, the minister added, explaining that “Portugal does not have an unlimited number of aircraft”.
“We need it to fulfill our national obligations and also in NATO, so that question is not an issue for the time being”said the head of Portuguese diplomacy.
João Gomes Cravinho claimed that the country is open to “listening to requests from the Ukrainian side” regarding the availability of parts for the maintenance of the aircraft that the Ukrainian army will fly.
The minister noted that sending fighter jets is a matter that will have to be discussed in detail and at another time with the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the Minister of Defense, Helena Carreiras, and in consultation with other members of the Atlantic Alliance .
“The expectation is that they are not our fighters [a ser utilizados pela Força Aérea da Ucrânia]”completed.
The President of the United States of America (US) Joe Biden last week authorized allies to provide F-16 fighters to the armed forces of Ukraine.
The approval came during a G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and following assurances from Ukraine’s counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that these fighter jets would only be used to defend Ukrainian territory.
The G7 is the group of the seven most developed democracies, bringing together Germany, Canada, the US, France, Italy, Japan and the UK, plus the EU. Last week’s summit also included countries and organizations such as Brazil, India, South Korea, Australia and the African Union.
So far, the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium have offered to send F-16s to Ukraine.
For several months now, Zelensky has been requesting fighter jets from member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other countries that support Kiev.
However, NATO and EU countries fear that Ukraine will use the F-16 to bomb Russian territory, an action that would lead to an escalation of the war.
In early May, Moscow accused Kiev of trying to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin after an alleged drone attack targeting the Kremlin (Russian Presidency).
Putin was not at the presidential headquarters when the plane hit the building and Ukraine has denied the allegations.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
