Vice President Kamala Harris is tasked with unraveling a delicate diplomatic issue with Poland after the US was caught ‘off guard’ at the suggestion that Soviet-era MiG fighter jets would be donated to Ukraine via an American base in Germany. The suggestion was quickly dismissed by the Pentagon, which said it would look too much like a direct confrontation with Russia. Ukraine badly needs the fighter jets that are just across the border, but the question of how to move them without looking like they are flying from a NATO country to the battlefield has baffled NATO countries. “There are a lot of ideas on the table. As you saw in the Pentagon statement, we believe this one is not tenable, but we certainly want and encourage all allies to come forward with ideas. And for us to stay in very close coordination at all levels,” a senior administration official told CNN. “This is a key priority for us and for all of our NATO allies. So we expect us to keep talking about how to achieve this really important goal. A number of people have had a variety of ideas and we think they are all worth discussing and that is what we will continue to do.

Harris will address the issue during her trip to Warsaw, where she will ride with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.