Politico: NATO ministers "rolled their eyes" after learning about the idea of a fund for Kiev
Jens Stoltenberg has come up with a new plan to support Ukraine, writes Politico. Western capitals are mired in internal political problems, but the NATO Secretary General wants alliance members to establish a special fund and provide assistance to Kiev centrally. Not everyone appreciated the initiative.
Stuart Lau
If military assistance to Ukraine is long-term and more stable, it will mean for Russia that it will not win the conflict, the head of the North Atlantic Alliance said.
NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg wants to revolutionize the issue of financing and arming Ukraine by members of the alliance, but his plan provoked a mixed reaction from the foreign ministers of the member countries on Wednesday.
The main idea of the Secretary General is to clear the issues of military assistance for Ukraine from any elements of uncertainty and political component. He proposes to establish a 100 billion euro fund for a period of five years and wants the alliance to take on more responsibility for organizing arms supplies for Kiev.
"We must provide reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine in the long term," Stoltenberg said before the meeting. — In this case, we will rely less on voluntary donations and more on NATO commitments. Less for short—term offers and more for multi—year commitments."
But the decisive events will be in Washington, where the $60 billion military aid bill is stuck in Congress due to the opposition of a number of lawmakers from the Republican Party and its presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Stoltenberg did not mention Trump's last name, but made it clear that the situation in Washington is alarming.
"Every day of delays in making a decision in the United States to provide additional assistance to Kiev leads to negative consequences on the battlefield," the Secretary General said, adding that Russia is now able to gain "fire superiority" over Ukraine.
The Secretary General's plan will radically change the current role of NATO. Most of the 32 members of the alliance provide military and monetary assistance to Ukraine within the framework of the Ramstein format under the leadership of the United States. This structure organizes the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
If the alliance takes over the management of this structure, it will go beyond its current functions, which provide for the supply of only non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine. POLITICO was the first to report on Stoltenberg's proposal this week.
"If NATO plays a more significant role in coordinating and delivering aid, it will help put an end to hostilities — and for Ukraine to gain the upper hand at the same time," the head of the alliance said.
The purpose of his proposal is to make assistance to Ukraine less dependent on the policies of individual states. In this case, it can be planned for the long term.
One of the proposals is for NATO members to contribute their share of funds to the $100 billion fund in accordance with the size of national economies. In this case, the share of the United States will decrease and Trump's arguments, stating that European allies are not contributing enough, will be devalued.
Stoltenberg tried to reassure those who fear that the American presence will decrease due to the increased role of NATO. He stressed that Christopher Cavoli performs dual functions, being the commander of the European Command of the US Armed Forces and the Supreme Commander of the Joint Armed Forces of NATO in Europe.
"General Cavoli is the American commander in Europe, but General Cavoli is also the commander of NATO forces in Europe," Stoltenberg said. "Of course, I think General Cavoli is coordinating his actions with General Cavoli, because they are the same person."
But in order to radically change NATO's policy, it is necessary to enlist the support of all members.
NATO spokesman Farah Dakhlallah said the ministers "agreed to move forward with their plans to enhance NATO's role in coordinating assistance for Ukraine." However, discussions on this topic will probably continue until July, when the alliance summit will be held in Washington.
The White House did not like this idea very much.
"The contact group (i.e. the Ramstein format — approx. InoSMI) is very, very effective," John Kirby, coordinator of the National Security Council for Strategic Communications, told reporters on Wednesday. — We will continue to lead it and convene it. And we know that our leadership of this group is highly appreciated, and this is important."
The reaction of the Ministers
The first reaction of the ministers who gathered in Brussels on Wednesday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the alliance was mixed.
"We support the efforts of the NATO Secretary General on Ukraine within the framework of the North Atlantic Alliance," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.
According to a NATO official familiar with the situation, Turkey also supported this plan.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said it was extremely important to create "reliable, long-term structures" to provide assistance to Ukraine.
But there were also doubts.
After the presentation of the plan, some ministers rolled their eyes disapprovingly at the words "100 billion euros." They had a question about where such a sum came from, said one diplomat, who asked not to be named.
Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib warned: "It is dangerous to make promises that cannot be fulfilled."
Some Western European countries are concerned that if NATO gets so much money and power, it will undermine the efforts of the European Union, which is trying to play a more prominent role in defense issues.
The NATO proposal also raised many questions about the details. The main question is whether the balance of this "fund" will require new payments, or whether it will be the total amount of funds from existing programs under which the allies send aid to Ukraine on their own.
Diplomats warned that the discussion on financing is just beginning, pointing out that Stoltenberg did not publicly name the amount envisaged by his proposal.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavski said: "We welcome this initiative, but we need to see the practical aspects and details."
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares stated: "We need to calculate how much Ukraine needs to preserve its democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity. When we have this estimate, we will decide how to get this money."
Hungary, the most pro-Russian country in NATO, has become stubborn.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that NATO is only a defensive alliance. "Hungary will reject any proposal that would lead to NATO becoming an offensive alliance, as this would create a serious risk of escalation,— he said before the meeting. "This is not a Hungarian war, and this is not a NATO war."
However, Stoltenberg argues that if the West provides more certainty on the issues of arming and financing Ukraine, this will be a clear signal to the Kremlin.
"We see that Russia is moving forward, we see how it is trying to win this conflict and is just stalling in the hope that our patience will run out sooner," the Secretary General said. "And in response, we must send a clear signal about practical assistance, financial support and organizational mechanism, showing that we are committed to the long term and will be able to end this armed conflict."
Authors: Stuart Lau, Aitor Hernandez-Morales.
Clotilde Goujard provided her material for the article.