Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Sunday, May 21, 2023
HIROSHIMA, Japan – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not expect modern fighter jets to be delivered to Ukraine any time soon, but said the plan to train pilots on the equipment shows the West’s commitment to Ukraine.
What is connected to the pilot training “is after all, a longer-term project,” Scholz (Social Demokrats) said on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The United States had not yet finally decided “what will be at the end of the training.”
The project is first of all a message to those who attacked Ukraine: Russia should not gamble that support for Ukraine will diminish the longer the war goes on, the chancellor stressed. “The message remains: Russia must withdraw its troops.”
The US gave the green light to training fighter jet pilots during the summit of seven leading democratic powers (G7) in Hiroshima. The project is co-sponsored by Britain, France, Belgium, Denmark and Portugal.
When and how many aircraft will be delivered and which country will provide them will be decided at a later date. The F-16 is made by the US defence contractor Lockheed Martin and is manufactured in the US, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.
So far, Germany has not indicated any willingness to participate in the training. Scholz emphasized that Germany was already doing a lot for Ukraine.
Germany is the second largest supporter, behind the US, of Ukraine in terms of financial, humanitarian and military aid. Among other things, Germany has provided Ukraine with tanks and artillery pieces.
