Polish President Andrzej Duda said this in an interview with Ukrinform.
In particular, Duda said that training an F-16 pilot is a long-term process: "Training Ukrainian pilots requires many months."
Instead, Ukrainian pilots are "ready to fly MiG-29 or Su almost immediately".
"In fact, they could fly them home right away. So, no doubt, if the MiG-29s are delivered, they will be able to immediately strengthen Ukraine's defense, and this is very important. Of course, very few NATO countries have MiG aircraft. We still have a few such aircraft, and we will consider this issue," Duda said.
According to him, there is a "problem" with Poland providing Ukraine with F-16 fighters, as there are "simply not enough of them in Poland, given the scale and overall potential of the country."
He said that Poland is currently waiting for F-35 and FA-50 aircraft purchased from the United States and South Korea.
"This is a difficult moment for us, because we are waiting for the warplanes ourselves. Of course, if a broad aviation coalition is created among NATO countries, we will certainly join it. But we have to discuss the formula for this with our allies," the Polish president added.
Last year, in March, Poland was ready to hand over its MiG-29 fighter jets, as requested by Ukraine. At the same time, it asked the United States to provide it with replacement aircraft, but Washington rejected this idea.
In September, Poland signed a contract to purchase 48 Korean FA-50s instead of Soviet Sukhoi and MiG fighters.