US Halted Deal For Poland To Give MiG-29 Jets To Kiev After China's Intervention - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2022) The US administration scrapped a deal on the supply of Poland's Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine in March due to China's back-channel intervention, UK weekly magazine The Spectator reported on Friday, citing a source with close ties to China's leadership.

On March 8, the Polish Foreign Ministry said it was ready to transfer its MiG-29 fighters to the Ramstein air base in Germany and give them at the disposal of the US government. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw was not ready to independently supply Ukraine with MiG-29 fighters. On March 9, US Defense Department Press Secretary John Kirby said the US administration assessed the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine "as high risk."

According to the report, Washington was initially positive about Poland's offer. However, an urgent and confidential back-channel initiative endorsed by China, which involved former European leaders and senior officials, made the US administration reconsider the deal.

Beijing pledged to make every effort possible to defuse Moscow's "nuclear threat on an operational level" if Washington rejected the supply of MiGs.

"It worked. The (US) decided that supplying aircraft was a step too far," the media quoted the source.

The source added that Beijing's priority was to "avoid any nuclear escalation" between Russia and NATO and to "help in reaching a ceasefire" in Ukraine.

Since Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, Western countries have been providing Kiev with humanitarian, military and financial aid. Moscow has denounced the flow of weapons to Ukraine from its Western allies, saying it adds fuel to the fire. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia.