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BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

European countries waiting on US to approve F-16 training: Politico

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: POLITICO
  • 15 Jul 2023 08:46
3 Min Read

Politico says the training of Ukrainian pilots on the use of F-16s cannot begin until the US Department of State formally approves the request.

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  • Politico
    US Air Force F-16 fighter jet on display during the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France, Monday, June 19, 2023 (AP)

US and European sources told Politico that several countries that vowed this week to train Ukrainian pilots on the use of American F-16 fighter jets are currently waiting for the United States to formally authorize the program.

During last week's NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, a coalition of 11 states led by Denmark and the Netherlands formally committed to training Ukrainians to fly F-16s and other fighter aircraft.

According to European officials, the training program is expected to begin in August in Denmark, and a training facility is set to be established in Romania.

Nonetheless, Politico indicated that the training cannot begin until the US Department of State formally approves the request to transfer instruction manuals, flight simulators, and other documents about the jets.

While US President Joe Biden has vowed to approve the program, the official request "is still being reviewed," the news website quoted Lt. Col. Garron Garn, a Pentagon spokesperson, as saying.

It is noteworthy that last month, Pentagon Spokesperson Patrick Ryder confirmed that Denmark officially requested permission to conduct F-16 training.

The news website pointed out that it is not uncommon for the United States' interagency procedure to authorize the transfer of sensitive military technology, especially fighter jets, to take time.

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This comes as senior Ukrainian officials indicated that Kiev is in urgent need of F-16s.

Speaking before the NATO summit in early July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chastised the West for delaying the training of Ukrainian pilots.

"I have the same questions as you do for our esteemed partners," he said in response to a question about the fighter jets' delivery dates.

"We have agreed, we have pressed, and we have a coalition of countries that are ready to start training for Ukrainian pilots. [But] there is no schedule for training missions, and they’re delaying it. I don’t know why they’re doing this," Zelensky added.

The Pentagon’s Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims II suggested on Thursday that the conditions on the battlefield in Ukraine were "not ideal" for using F-16 fighter jets at present given that Russia continues to possess air defense capabilities.

"The Russians still possess some air defense capability. They have air capability. And the number of F-16s that would be provided may not be perfect for what’s going on right now," Sims explained.

"As the future changes, that certainly will dictate how that is employed."

On his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia will consider the presence of F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine sent from the West as a "nuclear" threat due to their capacity to carry atomic weapons.

Read more: Ukraine sold its sovereignty for Western money, weapons, Orban says

  • United States
  • F-16
  • US
  • Kiev
  • Ukraine
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As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

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