HS analysis|NATO is now trying to find a model that would guarantee Ukraine the current level of support in the next few years. The Secretary General mentions the amount as 40 billion euros per year, but the details are unclear. You can expect a rigorous discussion about the model before the summer summit, writes HS reporter Elina Kervinen.
Prague
When The foreign ministers of the NATO countries met on Thursday and Friday in Prague, and the recent military alignments of the United States and Germany drew attention.
News came from both countries that Ukraine is now allowed to use weapons supplied by them to attack certain military targets on the Russian side in order to defend itself in the Kharkiv area.
In May, Russian attacks have especially damaged Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
In this situation, the alignment of the countries was an indication of the ability to change direction when the situation demanded it. It still wasn’t an actual full translation.
According to the information that has now come to light, permission to attack the Russian side was limited to the Kharkiv area and certain targets.
In addition, many other NATO countries have not had similar restrictions on the use of their weapons until now, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized. He pointed out, for example, Britain, which has supplied Ukraine with long-range Storm Shadow missiles.
Because especially the United States and also Germany are major supporters of Ukraine, the alignment is important.
In Prague, the managers were able to answer questions about why the change came only now. NATO countries has been constantly criticized for the fact that the necessary aid to Ukraine comes a step late due to the fear of the war expanding.
Stoltenberg’s message pointed to a change in the war: when battles are now taking place right on the border in Kharkiv and attacks are coming from the Russian side of the border, the only way to defend yourself is to strike across the border.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States has adapted to the situation, and that is what is being done now around Kharkiv.
Blinken strongly in Prague the previous Media information that the United States had given permission for the attacks in question.
He said Ukraine had asked for permission to do so in recent weeks. The request went directly to the president For Joe Biden and Biden approved it for that purpose.
Blinken did not answer whether the line could be expanded to areas other than the Kharkiv area. The United States will continue to adapt as needed, he said, however.
Prague the actual agenda of the meeting was what Ukraine can be promised at the July NATO summit in Washington.
It is probably the wish of the federation that when celebrating NATO’s 75th anniversary, public conflicts would be avoided, as happened last summer before the Vilnius meeting.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi warned at the time that he would not come if the promises were not enough.
Now NATO is preparing a three-part package for Ukraine. Its details probably require a lot of twisting this time as well.
First part is money, i.e. some kind of political promise to financially support Ukraine in the next few years.
Second, NATO wants to take a bigger role in coordinating the support and training provided by allies.
Thirdly, it is about the wording that outlines how to describe Ukraine’s future NATO path.
Money raised the most questions in Prague.
Stoltenberg calculated that Ukraine has been given 40 billion euros worth of military aid per year in recent years. He suggests that a similar level should be reached “as long as it is necessary.”
Before the meeting in Washington, the question is whether the allied countries will digest the sum. In many countries, there are domestic budget pressures and political opposition.
It is also a matter of details, which are still unclear. In practice, for example, how much each country is expected to contribute and what all would be counted in the support pot.
Stoltenberg assured that it would be new money.
In the background, HS is told that the idea is to take into account the amount of aid given through all different channels.
Finland foreign minister Elina Valtonen According to (kok), 40 billion euros a year can be a good guideline when the war is in full swing.
Valtonen said that the best solution would be to agree on a level for the support and then divide the amount according to a certain key, in which case every country would participate. Countries that cannot send weapons could give euros.
NATO has a key that is used to calculate the countries’ share of financing the NATO budget. Valtonen also mentioned the GDP share as a possibility. It was also mentioned by Stoltenberg, who otherwise did not reveal much.
The question, of course, is what guarantees that the countries would stick to the corresponding percentage promise. The NATO countries have already committed to spend two percent of their GDP on their defense spending, and even reaching that has been behind work and pain.
All right is that making any pledge of aid with the unanimity of 32 countries is laborious. Not least when Hungary is involved, which has repeatedly stood in the way of supporting Ukraine, especially at EU tables.
Recently Hungary told that he was seeking some kind of opt-out solution in NATO, which would mean that it would not have to participate in NATO’s actions to support Ukraine. It is still unclear what exactly this would mean.
Valtonen said, however, that Hungary did not have the information to block the alliance’s policies on Ukraine.
What other promises, it seems clear that Ukraine will not become a NATO member before the end of the war, and there is no need to extend an invitation to it now.
Therefore, the most important thing for Ukraine right now is acute support and the fact that the war could be ended. In that regard, the NATO countries have a constant place on the screen.
#Analysis #expected #message #weapons #heard #NATO #countries #real #screen #place #Washington #summer
