The difficulties of the US Congress to approve a new package of military aid to Ukraine is already having an “impact”, warned yesterday the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who recalled that “constant” support is needed in the country “If we allow President Putin to win, it will not only be a tragedy for Ukraine but it will be dangerous for us,” because “it will make the world a more dangerous place and make us more vulnerable,” Stoltenberg stressed on the occasion of the meeting of allied defense ministers held in Brussels.
The military organization views with concern Donald Trump’s electoral maneuvers in Congress, where Republicans have blocked several attempts by Democrats to approve a foreign aid package containing 60 billion for Ukraine. “I hope that the broad support that exists in both parties in Congress will translate in one way or another into a political decision that reflects this reality,” Stoltenberg declared to the press.
“The fact that the United States cannot decide is affecting the level of support” and has an “impact”, because although Europe and Canada have accelerated the delivery of aid and together they provide more support to Ukraine than have sent the United States (100 billion dollars against 75 billion), their aid is “vital” to prevent Putin from winning. His victory would encourage other authoritarian leaders, such as China’s Xi Jinping, to use force to get what they want: “What happens in Ukraine today can happen in Taiwan tomorrow, so it matters for our security,” he said. said the allied general secretary.
The meeting of defense ministers was marked by Trump’s disturbing statements last weekend in which he encouraged Russia to do “whatever it wants” with any European ally that “doesn’t pay” its membership fee. NATO. The comment does not correspond to the operation of the organization (there are no fees, but a political commitment, pursued with insistence by the United States since the time of Barack Obama, to invest 2% of GDP in defense) nor does it have account for the notable increase in defense spending recorded in recent years in Europe and Canada.
Stoltenberg, who immediately condemned the questioning of the principle of solidarity on which NATO is based, yesterday resorted to pedagogy to explain – and emphasize – Europe’s commitment to Ukraine and its current level of military spending. The Atlantic Alliance expects that, this year, 18 of its 31 members will invest 2% of their national wealth in defense, the goal agreed in Wales in 2014, and the total figure of the European bloc is currently equivalent to a 3% of their combined GDP. The criticism about the level of spending in Europe “has ceased to be valid”, “there is still a way to go but a lot of progress has been made”.
The meeting of defense ministers was mainly dedicated to preparing the summit that the organization, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, will hold in Washington less than four months before the presidential elections. It is expected that the appointment will result in a hardening of the Alliance’s message towards China, in line with the wishes of the two major American political parties.
The White House wants to come to the meeting having first agreed on the relief of Stoltenberg (his successor is assumed to be the acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte) and concluded the response to Kyiv’s request to enter the Alliance to avoid repeating the scenario of the city of Vilnius, where the question mark was still open. The answer remains the same: Ukraine will be able to enter “when the allies decide and the conditions are met”, which will hardly happen as long as the war of Russian aggression lasts. At the moment, “Ukraine is closer than ever to NATO”, Stoltenberg reiterated. The allies agreed yesterday to create a new training center so that allied and Ukrainian troops can train together.
