Stoltenberg abandons plans to create a five-year fund for Ukraine due to opposition from NATO countries
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg abandoned plans to create a five-year fund for military support to Ukraine due to opposition from some Alliance members. Instead, he calls on NATO countries to continue their current contributions.
About this informs Bloomberg with reference to sources.
According to the new proposal, which could be endorsed by the alliance’s defense ministers at a meeting in Brussels next week, NATO members will pledge to spend at least 40 billion euros ($43 billion) a year on lethal and non-lethal aid for Ukraine. This corresponds to the average annual contributions since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
Each country’s contributions will be determined based on a percentage of its gross domestic product, and the results will be published in an annual report. This is intended to provide greater transparency regarding the aid provided to Ukraine and at the same time create soft pressure on those allies who do not fulfill their obligations. About half of the aid will be provided by the United States, and the rest by the other 31 members of the Alliance.
NATO hopes that the new plan will provide Kyiv with greater predictability regarding the level of support in the coming years. Alliance members are concerned that the US Congress has been unable to approve aid to Ukraine for months, and are worried about the possible re-election of Donald Trump to the post of US president, which could affect funding for Kyiv.
“We have already spent about 40 billion dollars a year, but I ask the Allies to continue this in the years to come. We must maintain at least this level of support each year for as long as necessary,” Stoltenberg said after the meeting of foreign ministers of the Alliance countries in Prague.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the proposal has broad support from almost all Alliance members, although Hungary remains in question. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is asking for an opportunity to refuse any in-depth support to Ukraine.
Turkey expressed concern about other parts of the “Ukrainian package”, which should be agreed upon by the leaders of the Alliance countries at the summit in Washington. The country urges caution that any coordination of military aid does not create the impression of greater involvement of allies in the war.
