The Milley administration seems determined to make Argentina the first Latin American country to send arms to Ukraine.
We warned in April Javier Milley seems intent on getting Argentina into a war, whether in Ukraine or the Middle East (or both)At that time, the Argentine President Expressed Millay expressed “solidarity and unwavering commitment” to the state of Israel following Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Israel after Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in Damascus. After opening a cabinet meeting attended but not chaired by Argentina’s ambassador to Israel, Millay reportedly said offscreen that Argentina “cannot remain neutral in World War III.”
“Milley is determined to take a side in international conflicts and believes that it will position him as an international leader,” said geopolitical analyst Gonzalo Fiore Viani. “Everything he does is to bolster that image, not to advance Argentina’s national interests.”
Millay seems determined to not only increase tensions in the Middle East, but also drag Argentina into the meat grinder that is Ukraine. Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Welcomed During his opening remarks at the 23rd meeting of the Ukraine Defense Liaison Group (also known as the Ramstein Group), Argentina announced its new membership in the group, an alliance (mostly of NATO member states) that meets monthly at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to coordinate the continued provision of military assistance to the Zelenskyy regime.
A “gift” for Zelensky
During his upcoming European trip, Millay will attend the G7 summit in Orgo Egnatia from June 13 to 15, at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. He will also take part in the Ukrainian Peace Summit in Geneva from June 15 to 16. Russia, like many other major non-NATO countries, has refused to participate in the summit, describing it as “irrelevant.” The Millay administration seems determined to make Argentina the first Latin American country to send arms to Ukraine.
in interview and CNN SpanishDuring a meeting with Prime Minister Andrés Oppenheimer in April, Millay even suggested sending military personnel through a meat grinder, a proposal that was supported by only 21 percent of the public. according to The study was conducted by consultant Gustavo Cordoba.An anonymous diplomatic source told La Politica Online that any decision to send in troops must first go through Congress.
The same cannot be said about weapons deliveries. article by Infobae Milley suggests that he would like to gift Ukraine’s (now entirely unelected) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy five French-made fighter jets (readers will have to forgive the rather crude pro-NATO propaganda in the first paragraph).
Javier Milley approved a plan designed by Luis Petri and Diana Mondino to support the Ukrainian war effort against Russia, which had launched an illegal war in Europe to fulfill Vladimir Putin’s imperialistic dreams.
The plan also includes sending five Super Etendard fighter jets to the government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which are out of service due to an embargo imposed by the UK on Argentina as a result of the Malvinas War.
French participation is crucial to overcoming this geopolitical obstacle, and Prime Minister Mondino and Defense Minister Louis Petri have been working for weeks to advance the covert move, which also involves the United States and NATO.
Mondino discussed this complex issue during meetings with Foreign Minister Stephane Séjourné in Paris, secret talks with NATO in Brussels and during a visit to Jake Sullivan at the White House.
So while the plan is being discussed at the highest levels, it’s not yet clear whether it will receive the Biden administration’s full approval. RecallWashington, Kiev and Brussels have already tried in vain to persuade Latin American countries to donate Russian-made weapons to support Ukraine’s war effort.
At this point, demoralized NATO allies would likely be happy to see another country join the Ukraine program, even if that country has little to contribute in terms of funds or weapons. At a meeting of the Ramstein Group, Lloyd Austin held up Argentina’s membership as evidence that “support for Ukraine is growing, not abating.”
Serious flaws
Of course, the aircraft project has serious flaws. First, it could be disastrous for Argentina’s diplomatic relations with Russia, and even with Russia’s main allies, such as Beijing. As Argentine defense expert Daniel Blinder put it: Sputnik SpanishAs long as the Milley administration seeks a “free association” with the United States, it risks creating a “serious conflict with Russia and China,” which could have very negative consequences.
If carried out, the operation would “involve Argentina in a broader conflict in a region that has no strategic interest for Argentina,” Fiore said, and would directly interfere with Russian geopolitical interests, with which Buenos Aires has historically had “good relations” and which supports Argentina’s territorial claims. Malvinas (The Falkland Islands). More importantly, Russia is pushing to expand its strategic and military influence in Latin America.
Secondly, and most importantly, the plane itself cannot fly. Not far from the ground Since arriving in Argentina in 2019, the plane has not been purchased. The reason is simple: it does not have the ammunition necessary to eject the cockpit in case of an emergency. The ammunition is manufactured in the UK, which has a total arms embargo on sales to Argentina. The Macri government in Argentina at the time was informed of this fact in advance, but still bought the plane.
In 2016, the French Ministry of Defense wrote to the Macri government informing it that not only were replacement parts for the ejection seats unavailable “due to British export restrictions to Argentina,” but that the planes themselves had been decommissioned several years earlier, which meant that the personnel needed to repair and maintain the planes after they were in service were no longer available. The Macri government bought the planes anyway, for €12.5 million each.
Now, it seems that the Milley government is ready to cut ties with Russia, the world’s largest nuclear power, because of five planes that cannot fly. To hide its involvement, the Milley government’s foreign and defense ministers seem to have proposed handing over the five Super Etendards to the French military and providing them with other military equipment in return, such as drones and helicopters. They seem to think that this way Putin will not notice Argentina’s participation in the Ukrainian conflict, and the Macron government can fit new ammunition to the ejection seats to ensure that the jets arrive in Ukraine in top condition.
This new plan is perhaps even more flawed than the original. First, it is based on the assumption that Russia will be easily fooled. If any deal is made, Russian retaliation will likely be swift and asymmetric, just as when Ecuador’s Daniel Novoa government claimed that Russian-made weapons were worthless “scrap” and offered to hand them over to Ukraine in exchange for $200 million in U.S.-made weapons. Russia responded by threatening to boycott bananas, Ecuador’s largest export. Within days, Novoa abandoned the plan.
Secondly, if Milley’s plan actually goes through (a big “if”), Macron may no longer be the president of France by the time everything is ready. After suffering a crushing defeat in the recent EU elections, the French president is scheduled to hold a general election at the end of June. This has caused all kinds of uproar and speculation, and Macron is likely to again escape defeat in the second round despite his support, but Declining approval ratingsThere are no guarantees whatsoever.
Ultimately, Argentina’s Super Etendard fighter jets appear destined to remain grounded and stored at the Puerto Belgrano airbase for the foreseeable future, according to a “high-ranking” military source. Quote By a respected military publication Zona Militar “The Argentine government categorically denies that it has plans to transfer these fighter jets to another country,” he said. He added that the planes are not even ready for service, let alone to be sent abroad. The operation would also weaken Argentina’s military, which has been trying for years to regain some of the air power it has lost in recent decades.
Even if the Milley government were to ship weapons to Ukraine, it would of course have little practical effect on the outcome of the war – especially if it doesn’t work! But it would still be a cost to a stagflated country that simply doesn’t have the funds for it.
* China is Argentina’s second-largest trading partner and a key creditor that President Milley wants to keep. This week, Beijing agreed to renew a currency swap with Buenos Aires, allaying fears that Milley’s cash-strapped government would have to repay $5 billion to the Asian superpower in coming months, giving Argentina’s stagflated economy some much-needed breathing space.
But for Milly, it comes at a price. Agreed to visit When Milley arrives in Beijing for a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping, he will likely treat his guests to a generous serving of finely seasoned humility pie. During the election campaign, Milley famously called the Chinese government an assassin and said he would never do business with a communist regime. Ironically, if the meeting goes ahead as scheduled in early July, it will be Milley’s first diplomatic visit to Beijing before he receives an invitation to the White House.
