Borrell does not rule out fighter jet deliveries to Kyiv

Borrell does not rule out fighter jet deliveries to Kyiv

02/02/2023 02:04 (act. 02/02/2023 02:04)

Escalation risk warnings issued for all weapons deliveries

Escalation risk warnings were given for all weapons deliveries ©APA/AFP

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell does not rule out the possibility that fighter jets will be delivered to Ukraine, despite the current reluctance of countries such as Germany and the United States. The delivery of tanks was also initially highly controversial, the Spaniard said on the eve of the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on Friday. In the end, however, an agreement was reached on the matter and the “red line” was crossed.

So far, there have been warnings of escalation risks for all arms deliveries, he said. Borrell declined to answer the question of whether he himself supported fighter jet deliveries. “My job is to reach a consensus,” said the foreign policy official. It is not useful to publicly represent positions that might compromise this possibility.

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, among others, was recently open to the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden have so far not wanted to deliver such weapons systems to the country attacked by Russia.