17 May 2023 , 08:11
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Rishi Sunak and his Dutch counterpart will spearhead Western efforts to send fighter jets to Ukraine.
The Prime Minister and Mark Rutte agreed to build an "international coalition" to secure F-16 warplanes for Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky believes they could prove vital in driving Russian forces out of his country as Ukrainian troops prepare for their highly-anticipated counter-offensive.
The pair held talks on the sidelines of the Council of Europe summit in Icelandic capital Reykjavik.
Following their negotiations, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Rutte agreed they would work to build an international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F16 jets.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky believes F-16 jets could prove vital in the war (Getty Images/Stocktrek Images)"The Prime Minister reiterated his belief that Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO and the leaders agreed on the importance of allies providing long-term security assistance to Ukraine to guarantee they can deter against future attacks.
"The leaders agreed to continue working together both bilaterally and through forums such as the European Political Community to tackle the scourge of people trafficking on our continent."
The RAF does not operate any F-16s but the Dutch air force has about 60.
Mr Zelensky initially asked for British warplanes, but later ditched his plea for RAF Typhoons and requested F-16s from Western allies.
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The US is seen as a key stumbling block to the plan amid claims President Joe Biden fears it could lead to escalation by Moscow in the grinding, 15-month conflict.
Revealing more about the UK’s role in securing fighter planes for Ukraine, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Britain would help Kyiv obtain spare parts for jets donated by other countries.
“We will help with that process,” he said.
“We coordinate and support the logistical input into Ukraine, whether that comes through a number of bordering countries, so of course we will do that.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius spoke to the Press following their meeting in Berlin (Wolfgang Kumm/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)“Part of the, if you call it, fighter coalition will be about saying, ‘If anyone wants to do it, it’s not for us to stand in their way, it’s not our technology, we are happy to help’.
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“But our role could only be limited insofar as training and indeed coordination and logistics - that’s the limit.
“It’s important to signal to the international community that we don’t have an objection to people doing that.”
Speaking in Berlin alongside his German counterpart, the Cabinet Minister added: “We will standby to help the international community lean in to support Ukraine's fight in this war.
“We are limited; we don't have F-16s.”
But he stressed: “We can help with training, we can help the Ukrainians in the long-term build their resilience, which is really important.”
The Kremlin reacted angrily to Poland and Slovakia’s announcement in March that they would send Soviet-era MiG-29 planes to Ukraine.
Russia threatened to destory the aircraft gifted to Kyiv.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time: “This will not affect the outcome of Moscow’s special military operation.
“This will bring additional woes for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
“Of course, during the special military operation, all this equipment will be subject to destruction.”
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