Rubio spoke about the negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine regarding Patriot missiles
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington is in talks with Ukraine regarding the granting of licenses to manufacture missiles for the Patriot air defense systems.
Rubio noted that a production license alone would not address Ukraine’s immediate needs, since, as he explained, even after obtaining a license, ramping up production of such complex weaponry and building the necessary factories could take years.
“This issue is currently under discussion. And, as I’ve already said, this is not an immediate solution. After all, ramping up production—even with a license—is a process that requires several years to build the necessary factories. We’re talking about extremely complex weapons. So this is currently being discussed. Perhaps it will yield results, but it won’t actually solve the short-term problem they’re pointing to,” the U.S. Secretary of State added.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made this statement on The Brian Kilmeade Show on Wednesday, September 2, according to the State Department, as reported by “European Truth.”
The European Union has not made any new decisions regarding the transfer of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems to Ukraine. This was stated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas following an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Ireland.
As a reminder, European countries have stepped up their search for interceptor missiles for Patriot systems, which they plan to transfer to Ukraine. Kyiv is seeking to strengthen its missile defense ahead of a possible new wave of Russian attacks this winter.
Earlier, Finland explained why it would not transfer Patriot missiles to Ukraine.
