NATO refuses to lay out multi-year plan for Ukraine, avoiding Trump

The outgoing Secretary General’s initiative was aimed at providing predictability to the government Volodymyr Zelensky So that he could plan new attacks against Russia. But he also intended that Atlantic Alliance can Even if Trump wins and decides to withdraw, somehow maintain support for Kiev. In this sense, Stoltenberg also proposed that NATO take over the coordination of arms shipments that were previously carried out by the Ramstein Group, now directed by Washington.

From the very beginning, NATO countries were skeptical about Stoltenberg’s plan, which should have been approved Washington summit to be held on July 9-11. And finally he has completely rejected the idea of ​​a multi-year fund because he believes an anti-Trump defense is not possible. “The 100 billion figure was a boon for the Sun. A multi-year commitment is not realistic. The political situation is very volatile, not only in the United States, but in all countries. You just have to look at what is happening in France and the budget is prepared year by year,” explains the affiliated source.

(NATO considers creating a $100 billion military aid fund for Ukraine to survive Trump)

Instead, the countries of the Atlantic Alliance will commit to giving Ukraine total support at the Washington summit $40 billionbut only for this year. This figure has been derived after it was confirmed that NATO sent $80 billion to Kiev in the first two years of the war. It is not even about creating a new fund, but about adding up all bilateral contributions (and through the EU), in order to verify that each member state makes its contribution.”Rather it is a mechanism for quantification, supervision and control“, explains the source. In reality, only with the money that the United States has committed (60,000 million) the figure is much higher.

NATO defense ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to finalize preparations for the Washington summit. In parallel, its own Stoltenberg travels to Budapest this Wednesday to persuade Viktor OrbanThe only European leader who maintains contact with Vladimir Putin did not veto this minimal plan. Hungary’s prime minister has made it clear that he will not participate in any kind of aid to Ukraine, but he will not veto the coalition plan, which requires unanimity.

The second major hurdle that still needs to be resolved before the Washington summit How to respond to Ukraine’s repeated calls to join NATO. In Vilnius, the allies agreed that an invitation to the club would be extended “when the allies agree and the conditions are met”. Now the heads of state and government want to go a step further and put in writing that Kiev’s path towards the Atlantic Alliance is “irreversible”.

Rutte Secretary General?

However, the allies also want to make it clear No invitation to Ukraine as long as the conflict remains open.The entry into NATO of any state at war would mean the immediate invocation of the collective defense clause, Article 5. And it would force the Atlantic alliance into a direct war conflict with Russia, which it actively wanted to avoid from the start.

The last issue that remains open before the Washington summit is the election of a new Secretary-General, which also requires unanimous support. Still the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark RutteIt currently has the support of 29 of the 32 member states. They are missing Romania, whose president is Klaus Iohannis has also presented its candidacy; Slovakia, which has not expressed itself for or against any candidate; and Hungary, which has unfinished business with Rutte and supports Iohannis.

Allies still hope that Iohannis (whose candidacy they find surprising and incomprehensible) will withdraw before the end of the month and clear the way for Rutte. However, the Budapest government has recently reiterated that it will never support the Dutchman because in its opinion he has repeatedly attacked Hungary.