The Netherlands are considering sending a Patriot missile system to Ukraine

WASHINGTON – The Dutch Prime Minister, Marco Ruttosaid on Tuesday that his country is considering sending a Patriot missile system to Ukraine, a move that would strengthen the country’s air defenses and it would help to push back the Russian attacks.

Rutte, seated next to the president Joe Biden In the Oval Office, he said that the Russian attack on the city of Dnipro, in which dozens of people died in a residential building, strengthened “our determination to stay with Ukraine”, amid the growing concern for the ability of Ukrainians to resist another possible Moscow offensive.

“We intend to join what you are doing with Germany on the Patriot project, which is the air defense system,” Rutte told Biden.

“I think it’s important that we come together in this, and I also discussed this this morning with Olaf Scholz from Germany.”

It was unclear whether the Dutch had formally committed to ship the system.

The Defense Department and the White House did not say whether a solid compromise had been reached, though an administration official said a formal decision was expected.

The Dutch foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Rutte is the latest foreign leader to visit Washington as Biden works to strengthen a number of crucial global alliances he believes can help counter growing aggression from Russia and China.

On Friday, the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, met with Biden and both leaders promised to work together to improve Japan’s military position and denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biden also tried to get the Dutch and Japanese to sign up to US efforts to curb China’s accession semiconductors that could advance their own military technologies.

In recent days, the Dnipro bombings have increased pressure on Western nations to do more to provide economic and military aid to Ukraine.

Rutte’s interest in sending a Patriot system follows a decision made in late December by US officials to supply and train Ukrainian troops.

On Tuesday afternoon, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskysaid on Twitter that he was grateful to the Dutch prime minister”by intention to provide the air defense system patriot“in Ukraine.

“It greatly improves air defense, protects our cities and people from the missile terror of the Russian Federation,” he said, referring to the Russian Federation.

But pressure has also increased on Germany and the United States to follow suit Great Britain and pledge to send tanks to Ukraine, although neither government has said it will.

Biden spoke on the phone with Scholz, the German chancellor, on Tuesday.

The two leaders “spoke of their strong support for Ukraine and condemned Russia’s aggression,” according to an administration statement.

In addition to promoting a united front against Russia, Biden is confident meeting leaders face-to-face can help garner support for the sweeping restrictions his administration imposed on retail sales in October. porcelain chips and the tools that can be used to make them.

US authorities believe this technology can be used toto power supercomputers and weapons systems that could one day threaten the United States.

US officials have been in talks for several years with the Netherlands and Japan, makers of the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, to limit the type of technology they sell to China.

Restrictions imposed by the Biden administration included caps on foreign chips made with American technology.

But the US has stopped short of regulating foreign-made equipment, such as that made by the Dutch company ASML.

The United States produces much of the most advanced equipment needed by the world’s semiconductor factories.

In the short term, the new restrictions were “like burning a hole in every chip factory in China that meets the technical specifications of the standards,” said Emily Kilcrease, a senior member of the Center for a New American Security.

But the measures could prove less effective over time if foreign companies like ASML or Japan’s Tokyo Electron are attracted to the huge Chinese market and try to develop and sell their own versions of American technology.

“If there are other countries that are not subject to the same level of scrutiny, there is a very strong structural incentive for these foreign companies to develop alternatives American technology,” Kilcrease said.

The US companies say the measures will put them at a disadvantage compared to their foreign competitors.

Lam Research, a supplier of chip-making technology, expects revenue to fall between $2 and $2.5 billion this year.

Applied Materials, another equipment company, provided similar estimates.

The Biden administration planned to issue its October rules together with its allies and had spent months in talks with them, including the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Israel and Britain.

But while many of these governments recognize that Beijing is a growing threat to national security, they have been reluctant to cut major trade ties with China.

In both Japan and the Netherlands there have been questions about the legal authority to issue restrictions like in the US, as well as extensive technical debates about which technologies should be restricted.

Gregory Allen, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said foreign governments appear to be pushing for the deal to be expanded further, to include countries like South Korea and Germany, to make sure that I’m not at a commercial disadvantage upon joining the United States.

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