Despite the fact that the Netherlands has led a new coalition to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, on Friday Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte decided to comment cautiously on his country’s commitment to supplying these aircraft to Ukraine.
Mark Rutte told journalists during a press conference.
– The decision to supply F-16s has not yet been made. Again, this requires US permission first. If you’re going to train, obviously you would think about it seriously. But it hasn’t been decided yet,” he said.
This was preceded by US President Joe Biden’s statement to the G7 leaders that Washington would support joint efforts to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation aircraft, a modern class of fighter jets that includes the F-16.
The Biden administration has also made it clear that it will not block aircraft exports, sources familiar with the talks told CNN.
According to Rutte, the Netherlands is currently leading a joint training mission with Belgium and the United Kingdom. At the same time, there are other European countries that have informed the Dutch government of their interest in helping.
Mark Rutte said that the start of the training mission is important, but the discussion about the actual deployment of aircraft should be held separately.
The prime minister acknowledged that the Netherlands has a fleet of F-16s that it will no longer need as it switches to fifth-generation F-35 fighters. But when pressed by a journalist, he refused to comment on the Netherlands’ desire to send these aircraft to Ukraine.
– I think that the Netherlands does play an important role in this issue of Ukraine and arms supplies. But we are not so big that we can afford to spread all sorts of statements in the media that could give other partners the impression that “we are being pressured through the media”. That’s why we never say anything about it until it’s over,” Rutte said.
The day before, NATO defence ministers met in the Ramstein format, after which Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the participants had agreed on plans to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and other fighter jets.