F-16 for Ukraine: The Netherlands and Denmark confirm receipt of US approval
The Netherlands and Denmark have confirmed that they have received approval from the United States to provide Ukraine with F-16 multirole fighters.
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra called the decision “an important milestone” for our country.
– “We welcome Washington’s decision to pave the way for the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine. We sincerely thank US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for the good and fast cooperation… This is an important milestone for Ukraine in defending its people and country,” the politician said.
Gukstra said that the Netherlands will now discuss the F-16 issue further with European partners.
We welcome Washington’s decision to pave the way for sending #F16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine. Many thanks to @SecBlinken for the good and swift cooperation. Now, we will further discuss the subject with our European partners. ???????????????????????? 1/2
— Wopke Hoekstra (@WBHoekstra) August 17, 2023
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that the US permission to supply the aircraft was received in response to an official request.
– I can confirm that there has been an exchange of letters between me and Anthony Blinken. The Danish Defence Minister and I have reached out to the US to explore our options,” he said in a commentary to Danish TV 2.
Rasmussen added that they had received a “friendly response” from Washington to their request, which “is part of our further actions”.
At the same time, the Foreign Minister said that the timing of the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine has not yet been determined.
– “We have created an international coalition to train pilots under the leadership of Denmark and the Netherlands, and we are making good progress. And then we are talking about the possible provision of aircraft, and this is an issue that we are discussing with our allies,” Rasmussen said.
Danish Defence Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen also said that the details of the future delivery of F-16s need to be agreed upon. This is being discussed with partners, and the head of the Ministry of Defence expects specifics in the near future.
– “The government has stated several times that the provision of the aircraft is a natural next step after pilot training,” the minister recalled.
The day before, Western media reported that the United States had approved the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands. This may happen as soon as the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed.
Earlier, the White House supported the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s. Washington’s permission is needed because the US is the country that manufactures these aircraft.
Source: TV 2