Portugal can train Ukrainian pilots to use F-16 fighter jets but cannot send its aircraft for the time being, Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho said on Monday.

“Portugal is open to that possibility. We have very good pilots and trainers, and they are available to work with colleagues from other countries who also have F-16s to train Ukrainian pilots,” Cravinho said as he left the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.

“Portugal does not have an unlimited number of aircraft”, the minister added.

Referring to the F-16 jets the Portuguese Air Force currently has as part of its fleet, the minister said, “We have those that we need to fulfil our national obligations and also in NATO, so, for now, this question does not arise.”

Speaking to Portuguese journalists, Cravinho also said he was waiting for the EU’s new Russia sanctions to be approved at the EU summit at the end of June, adding that the EU27 would look at a list of companies to be sanctioned submitted by Kyiv.

“Work is being done on that. Naturally, it is a negotiation process that is ongoing and therefore, it is always difficult to predict, but our hope is that it will be,” he said when asked whether the EU’s 11th sanctions package will be approved at the end of June.

(Andre Ferrão, edited by Shrikesh Laxmidas | Lusa.pt)

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