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German Vice Chancellor against supplying Kiev with German fighter jets

Robert Habeck specified that from the very onset of the events in Ukraine it was about a "balance" directed at "the utmost support" for Kiev so as to not let Germany, Europe or the entire world be dragged into this conflict

BERLIN, February 1. /TASS/. Robert Habeck, Germany's Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection has spoken against delivering German fighter planes to Kiev, supporting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s stance on the matter.

Talking to Germany’s ZDF TV channel on Tuesday night, he noted: "I don’t think it’s right to supply [Ukraine] with fighter jets now. And not just at this moment but in general." That said, he specified that from the very onset of the events in Ukraine it was about a "balance" directed at "the utmost support" for Kiev so as to not let Germany, Europe or the entire world be dragged into this conflict. "And, of course, it is not quite clear where the line is," the official concluded.

That said, Habeck stressed that now it is important to deliver Leopard battle tanks to Kiev as soon as possible. "But not more than that," he noted.

Recently, Scholz and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius repeatedly stated that Germany was not going to deliver fighter jets to Kiev. On January 26, following the decision by a number of Western countries to send tanks to Kiev, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky urged the West to send modern NATO fighter jets and long-range missiles as well. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that some of his European colleagues began working on the issue of supplying Ukraine with F-16s. On January 27, US White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that Washington was not surprised by Kiev’s request to provide fighter jets, including F-16s, however, at the moment, there had been no new announcements on the matter.