Poland said on Tuesday that it is ready to immediately and free of charge deploy all of its MiG-29 fighters to the US Air Force Ramstein Air Base in Germany and place them at the disposal of Washington to provide them to Ukraine. statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland.
“At the same time, Poland is asking the United States to provide us with used aircraft with appropriate operational capabilities. Poland is ready to immediately establish the conditions for the purchase of aircraft, ”the message says.
The Polish government, in a statement, urged “other NATO allies – owners of MiG-29 aircraft – to act in the same spirit.”
On Tuesday, a senior State Department official said that Poland had not consulted with the United States before making a statement about its readiness to transfer planes in Germany to the US.
“I saw this statement from the Polish government when I was literally driving here today,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
“As far as I know, it was not previously agreed with us that they plan to transfer these planes to us,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to this hearing being over so I can come back to my desk and see how we respond to this offer of theirs to hand over the planes to us,” she said, noting that the US and Poland have been in consultations for several days now. days on this topic.
Meanwhile, a senior US defense official told CNN they have read the Polish government’s statement and “they have nothing to offer at the moment.”
More background: It remains unclear where the US will take the F-16s to send them to Poland or other Eastern European countries anytime soon. But members of Congress support this initiative. Senator Ben Cardin asked Nuland to have the Biden administration notify them if there are any delays in getting these F-16s to Poland.
However, the complex logistics behind the idea now being discussed by both US and Polish officials have yet to be determined, two European diplomats told CNN.
Poland’s announcement came after some Polish officials were disappointed with how progressive the US was on the issue over the weekend, the sources said.
“In fact, we are discussing right now with our Polish friends what we could do to meet their needs if they really decide to provide these fighters to the Ukrainians. What we can do? How can we help make sure they get something to fuel the planes they hand over to the Ukrainians? We are in very active discussions with them about this,” Secretary of State Tony Blinken said on CBS on Sunday.
The Poles believe Vice President Harris’s visit to Poland in the coming days will be a good time for the US to announce more details, but don’t know if that will happen or not, the Polish official said.
Other countries that are negotiating with the US to participate in similar events are negotiating quietly, without arousing expectations, said a diplomat from Central Europe.
Barbara Starr of CNN contributed to this post.