Kyiv, 26 August 2023 (TDI): The Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, following the meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced the support of Norway in transferring F-16 jets to Ukraine in a press briefing to media representatives on August 24 in Kyiv.
The Prime Minister of Norway on his visit to Kyiv to take part in the celebrations of Independence Day of Ukraine on August 24, had a meeting with the President of Ukraine.
During the meeting, both parties discussed the steps in defence cooperation between the two countries.
After the meeting, a joint press briefing was conducted during which the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Norway announced the transfer of F-16 jets to the country. They also elaborated on the additional military assistance being provided by Denmark.
During the meeting with the media representatives, the Ukrainian President stated that Norway effectively supports their aviation coalition and has taken respective decisions in this regard.
He added that the Norwegian Prime Minister would deliver the good news himself and called it to be the best news for the Independence.
In this context, he contributed that there is a new defence package for Ukraine that will strengthen the air defence and also hinted towards another important defence equipment to be provided to Ukraine.
Moving forward, the Norwegian Prime Minister in the press briefing announced that Norway has decided to transfer IRIS-T air defence systems and F-16 jets to Ukraine.
Furthermore, Norway has decided to provide two F-16 jets for the purpose of training the mission of Ukrainian pilots.
He added that Norway is also transferring demining equipment to Ukraine.
The Norwegian Prime Minister voiced that Norway would continue to support Ukraine in rebuilding its energy infrastructure and storing gas for the winter period.
Also read: Denmark pledges to provide F-16s to Ukraine
Apart from the announcement of the military assistance to Ukraine, the Ukrainian President also highlighted that Norway has actively joined global efforts to implement the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
He set forth that Ukraine would be glad to hold one of the next rounds of Peace Formula talks in Oslo, Norway.
He also paid his gratitude to Norway for supporting the preparations of the Global Peace Summit to be held in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian President in the press meeting also invited Norway to start the negotiations on a bilateral document on security guarantees for Ukraine in the framework of the G7 Joint Declaration.
“I am confident that Norway’s participation in such security architecture will help us bring more stability to the entire space from Scandinavia to the Black Sea,” the Ukrainian President emphasized.
Besides that, the Ukrainian President notified that three countries have already agreed to provide Ukraine with F-16 jets after the training of pilots that include Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.
He expressed his gratitude to the foregoing three countries and towards the USA for their support.
In summation, the press briefing encompassed the Norwegian military assistance to Ukraine and further expected cooperation between the two countries on the subject of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
