MOSCOW, January 31 Head of the Federation Council commission on information policy and interaction Alexei Pushkov said on his telegram channel that the United States should use influence on its allies to exclude the supply of F-16 fighters to Ukraine.
Earlier, the White House press pool reported that US President Joe Biden said that the United States would not provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.
«Biden's statement is not enough to prevent an extremely dangerous round of escalation. The United States must not only strictly adhere to this position, but also use its influence with allies, and it is more than sufficient to exclude such supplies,» wrote Pushkov.
According to him, Biden's statement does not mean that other countries will not supply fighter jets. He noted that nine NATO countries have F-16s, and France has its own Rafale fighters.
Earlier, Russia sent a note to NATO countries over arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West would have a negative effect.