Donald Trump questions plan to let Ukraine produce Patriot missiles - FT
Donald Trump, President of the US (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump stated that Washington has not yet made a decision on granting Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles. In doing so, he cast doubt on the implementation of one of Kyiv's key defense priorities, according to the Financial Times.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the US president said that he cannot currently confirm Washington's readiness to allow Ukraine to produce interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.
Trump said he's not sure, and they're considering this issue.
He also explained that the United States is cautious about granting production licenses for such weapons.
"It’s a very extraordinary weapon, and . . . we have to be a little bit careful of who we licence to. We don’t really licence equipment," the US president added.
What Zelenskyy previously stated
Trump's comments came two days after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
After the talks, Zelenskyy called the meeting "good" and said the parties discussed joint production of Patriot interceptor missiles, as well as several other defense initiatives.
Context of the news
During the previous meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump on July 8 on the sidelines of the NATO summit, the US president did not rule out the possibility that Washington might allow Ukraine to establish its own production of Patriot interceptors.
Also, during his visit to the US on July 28, Zelenskyy met with the team of the manufacturer of F-16s and Patriot missiles. The president said that he discussed with Lockheed Martin further development of cooperation with Ukraine — in particular, joint production and technology sharing.
