The US has turned down Poland’s surprise offer to transfer its Russian-made MiG-29 fighters to a US base in Germany
US-Polish clutches on Mig-29 fighter-bombers to Ukraine.
After a week of negotiations between Washington and Warsaw on the transfer of jets to Ukraine, Poland made a “surprise” announcement last night.
Poland is ready to deploy all its Mig-29 fighters to the US airbase of Ramstein in Germany and make them available to the United States. Furthermore, Warsaw urges other NATO members who own aircraft of that type to do the same. The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs made it known yesterday evening in a statement published on the official website of the ministry and on Twitter.
But the announcement “stunned” Washington so much that the United States rejected the Polish offer. The prospect of flying fighter planes from NATO territory into the war zone “raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance,” the Pentagon said.
To support the Ukrainian defense of the Russian offensive, there has been discussions for days at EU and NATO level on sending fighter-bombers for the Ukrainian air force. The Ukrainian army already flies Russian-made aircraft, which makes Mig-29s the best choice for Ukrainian pilots who already know how to use them. Training of combat pilots on US-made aircraft can take years.
But any military aircraft transfer is complicated. Neither NATO nor the European Union want to be considered directly involved in such a transaction, which would increase the already extreme tensions with Russia. Indeed, Moscow has declared that supporting Ukrainian aviation would be tantamount to going to war.
“The Polish incident exposed cracks in the NATO alliance that the Biden administration struggled to keep pace in the face of the Russian invasion. Vice President Kamala Harris will hold talks with the Polish government in Warsaw on Thursday, where she will try to repair some of the diplomatic damage, ”the Guardian said.
All the details. POLAND’S MOVE ON MIG-29 TO UKRAINE
Warsaw is “ready to deploy – immediately and free of charge – all its MIG-29 fighters at Ramstein air base and to make them available to the United States government”. “At the same time, Poland is asking the United States to supply aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities. Poland is ready to create the conditions for the purchase of the aircraft immediately, ”the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs said last night.
Furthermore, “The Polish government is also asking other NATO allies – in possession of MIG-29 fighters – to act in the same way”, the statement also reads.
Oswiadczenie Minister Spraw Zagranicznych Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w zwiazku z wypowiedzia Sekretarza Stanu USA w sprawie przekazania samolotow Ukrainie https://t.co/lBiXWDMDNe
– Lukasz Jasina (@RzecznikMSZ) March 8, 2022 WARSAW CALLS ON NATO
Like other NATO partners, Warsaw is backing Kiev by sending defensive weapons. (Here the in-depth analysis by Startmag on all the weapons sent by Italy, France and Germany).
Since the start of the Russian offensive, top Ukrainian officials have asked countries employing MiG-29s to relocate their jets, as this would mean minimal training for Ukrainian pilots.
But Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki specified today that he will not directly send fighters to Ukraine, since he is not a direct part of the conflict between Kiev – which is not a NATO member – and Moscow.
“Any decision on the delivery of offensive weapons must be made by the whole of NATO and on a unanimous basis,” added Morawiecki. “This is why we are ready to send our entire fighter fleet to Ramstein, but we are not ready to make any moves on our own because, as I said, we are not part of this war”, remarked the Polish premier. THE TRANSFER OF HUNTING ACCORDING TO POLAND
By transferring the planes to US custody instead of delivering them directly to the Ukrainians, the Polish government would avoid the logistical challenge of getting the jets across the border.
So the move by Warsaw comes, “with the hope that the artifice of triangulation will expose the Poles less to the danger of finding themselves the target of some close reprisal by Russia. Or at least offer them the screen of the American superpower ”, commented Alessandro Logroscino of Ansa yesterday. PENTAGON REJECTS POLISH PROPOSAL
But the Polish announcement took Washington by surprise and the Pentagon rejected the offer.
The Polish proposal raises “serious concerns for the entire Atlantic Alliance,” said US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby.
“The decision to transfer Polish-owned aircraft to Ukraine ultimately rests with the Polish government,” the Pentagon spokesman added.
Then he pointed out: “In fact, Poland’s proposal shows only some of the complexities that this problem presents. It is simply not clear to us whether or not there is a substantial motivation “. Finally, the spokesperson announced: “We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies on this problem and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe that Poland’s proposal is sustainable”. THE POSITION OF THE US UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE
Furthermore, even on Tuesday, US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said during a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she only learned of Poland’s plans as she drove to the hearing.
“As far as I know, he has not been pre-consulted with us,” Nuland told senators.
“A rare display of disharmony on the part of NATO allies seeking to empower Ukrainian fighters by avoiding being involved in a broader war with Russia,” AP commented. THE IMPLICATIONS OF SENDING MIGS TO UKRAINE
According to the PA, “the delivery of Poland’s 28 Soviet-made MiG-29s would indicate Western determination to do more for Ukraine. Militarily, however, the number of aircraft on offer would make it unlikely to be a turning point. And the MiG-29s are inferior to the most sophisticated Russian aircraft and could be easy prey for Russian pilots and Russian missiles ”. “SHORT-CIRCUIT IN PROGRESS BETWEEN WARSAW AND WASHINGTON”
“It would seem a sort of real short-circuit in progress between Warsaw and Washington” comments the military analyst Aurelio Giansiracusa on AresDifesa.
“On the one hand Warsaw ready to” barter “, on the other Washington which denies having given the green light to this exchange”.
According to the AresDifesa expert, “Washington probably did not like the invitation to the other Allied countries to get rid of the MiG-29s still present in their arsenals because the United States probably has no interest at this moment in a move. such; in fact, they can cover without any problem the sale of two used Falcon Squadrons to Poland and those to the Allied countries ”.
Furthermore, according to Giansiracusa, “probably Washington still wants to keep the bridges open for mediation between Kiev and Moscow managed by Israel and other channels, for a way out of the crisis”. GERMANO DOTTORI’S TWEET
Finally, the decision by NATO and the Pentagon to block the transfer of Polish Mig-29s to the US is “good news”, according to Germano Dottori, a geopolitics analyst and scientific advisor to Limes. “A principle of reasonableness in a context in which too many actors are unfamiliar with the balance of terror and its rules,” said Dottori on Twitter.
NATO and the Pentagon block the transfer of Polish MiG-29s to the US, defining it as risky and not agreed. It is good news. A principle of reasonableness in a context in which too many actors are unfamiliar with the balance of terror and its rules
– Germano Dottori (@GermanoDottori) March 9, 2022
