Poland said on Tuesday that it was “ready to move all its Mig-29 planes without delay and free of charge” to a German base and “to make them available to the United States government”.
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The United States does not want to risk an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Washington rejected, on Tuesday March 8, Poland’s proposal to put its Mig-29 planes at its disposal. The Americans could then have delivered them to the Ukrainians to help them against the Russian invasion. “We don’t think Poland’s proposal is viable.however, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. The prospect of fighter jets, at the disposal of the United States government, departing from a United States/NATO base in Germany to fly into disputed airspace with Russia (…) raises serious concerns for the whole of NATO.”
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Earlier on Tuesday, Poland claimed to be “ready to move without delay and free of charge all its Mig-29 aircraft to the Ramstein base [en Allemagne] and to make them available to the Government of the United States”. The proposal had surprised the United States, which feared that Vladimir Putin would consider such military assistance as a direct involvement of NATO in the conflict.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki insisted on Tuesday evening at a press conference in Oslo that “any decision to deliver offensive weapons must be taken by NATO as a whole, on the basis of unanimity”. For the US government, “the decision whether or not to transfer Polish aircraft to Ukraine ultimately rests with the Polish government”answered John Kirby. “We will continue consultations with Poland and other NATO allies on this subject and its logistical difficulties.”