MOSCOW, June 17, 2023 (BSS/TASS) - Russia is ready to give a military-technical response if F-16 fighter jets appear in the skies over Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the RT television channel on Friday.

   "Of course, <...> a military-technical response will follow," he said, responding to a related question.

   Lavrov added that Russia had presented "a very serious demarche" within the framework of the UN Security Council panel "nuclear five" in connection with the possibility of F-16 aircraft being prepared for transfer to Ukraine to carry nuclear weapons.

   "Now there is talk about F-16 aircraft, which, indeed, can be equipped to carry nuclear weapons. We've said that publicly," Lavrov stressed.