US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, July 8, that Washington will give Kiev a license to produce Patriot missiles. He made the statement during a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, NV reports.
''A bird whispered to me about giving them the right to produce Patriot. We're going to show them what to do - it's actually very difficult.''
''But you know how to do difficult things quickly,'' Trump said, addressing Zelensky.''
''That's why we talked about giving you licenses to produce the Patriot,'' Trump repeated.''
''According to Trump, the company that makes them and is currently building four more plants will be able to do it in two to three months.''
''If you order the Patriot, now you have to wait a long time. It's the same with the Tomahawks. We have very specific equipment, but it's called elite. So one of the things we're going to talk about is that we're going to give you a license to produce that equipment. That's cool, right? So you can't complain that we're not giving you enough. We will say: ''Do it yourself''. We have not yet informed the companies about this, but everything will be arranged. Of course, they will be delighted'', he added.
The statement comes after a bilateral meeting between the two leaders in Ankara, which lasted an hour. The main topic of the talks was precisely the strengthening of the Ukrainian air defense system (APD) at a critical moment for the country, with the focus on the urgent provision of missiles for American complexes. The transfer of rights to produce such a high-tech weapon is considered an unprecedented move by Washington, which could change Kiev's defense capabilities in the long term.