The Minister of National Defense of Poland, Wladyslaw Kosyniak-Kamiś, said that Poland would not provide Ukraine with MiG-29 fighters, as Kiev refused to share its technologies for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to the minister, the approach of "MiGs in exchange for drones" was proposed to Kiev, as Ukraine has significant technological capabilities in the field of the production of unmanned aerial vehicles and such an exchange would be useful for military cooperation between the two countries, the BBC recalls.
Kosyniak-Kamiś said in an interview with the Polish television channel Polsat News that the Ukrainian authorities had agreed to this, but had not implemented it the agreements.
"I proposed, as it seems to me, an approach based on partnership. MiGs in exchange for drones. The Ukrainians initially accepted this, but did not implement it, so there will be no MiGs for Ukraine, since Poland does not have drones or the ability to use them," said the head of the Polish Ministry of Defense.
The host of the program asked the minister whether he considered the decision of the Polish authorities to send military equipment to Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion without any conditions a mistake.
"They did the right thing and I would have done the same. They did the right thing, and Ukraine was in a much more difficult situation at that time," — answered Kosyniak-Kamiś.
The minister said that the current Polish government takes a much firmer position in terms of defending its national interests.
"We — unlike the previous government — not only say that we will provide subsidies, but also expect compliance with the principle of solidarity.
The principle of solidarity is this: you help, but when your partner sees that he can support you or offer you new solutions, he shares this information with you," Kosyniak-Kamiś emphasized.