NATO foreign ministers meet to discuss Ukraine support plan – DW – 04/04/2024

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has told the NATO summit that his country needs more US-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles to ward off attacks by Russian ballistic missiles.

“I don’t want to spoil the party,” Dmytro Kuleba said after congratulating NATO members on the alliance’s 75th anniversary. “But my main message today will be Patriots.”

“Saving Ukrainian lives, saving the Ukrainian economy, saving Ukrainian cities, depends on the availability of Patriots and other air defense systems in Ukraine. We’re talking about Patriots because it’s the only system that can intercept ballistic missiles,” Kuleba said.

Ukraine has repeatedly urged its Western allies to provide it with the weaponry it needs to defend itself against the invasion by Russia, which is far superior in terms of the amount of munitions and weapons at its disposal.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has stressed that the US needs its European allies for its own security and not just the other way round.

“Europe needs North America for its security,” Stoltenberg said at a ceremony commemorating 75 years since the alliance’s founding at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels.

“At the same time, North America also needs Europe. European allies provide world-class militaries, vast intelligence networks and unique diplomatic leverage. Multiplying America’s might.”

“I don’t believe in America alone, just as I don’t believe in Europe alone. I believe in America and Europe together in NATO because we are stronger and safer together,” he said. 

Stoltenberg’s remarks appeared to reflect concerns that the US could reduce its backing for the Western military alliance should Donald Trump — an outspoken NATO critic — come to power in November’s presidential elections.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said that NATO is a “central anchor of security” in Europe as the military alliance marks 75 years since its founding.

Baerbock told German public radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine posed the greatest-ever threat to peace in Europe.

She called for resolute support of Kyiv, saying this was the only way to defend freedom and democracy.

The foreign minister said she supported the proposal by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg that aid for Ukraine should be centrally coordinated by the alliance, adding that durable and reliable structures for the support were vital.

NATO has scored many successes in its 75-year history, but now confronts new challenges in view of China’s increasing assertiveness and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, says DW’s Alexandra von Nahmen.

She said the question of how to support Ukraine into the future was the biggest issue needing to be tackled by the alliance at this week’s summit.

According to von Nahmen, Russian claims that its invasion of Ukraine is a result of missteps made by NATO are false, as NATO had been in an exchange with Moscow up until Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

She said the alliance considered Russian President Vladimir Putin as solely responsible for the war in Ukraine.

NATO, and particularly those members that border Ukraine, is intent on ensuring that Moscow does not win the war for the sake of security in Europe, von Nahmen said.

When NATO was founded in 1949, the enemy was on its eastern border. Today, it seems things have come full circle: The alliance’s 75th anniversary is overshadowed by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

DW looks at the current state of NATO.

NATO was created to act as a bulwark against the Soviet Union and the West German army trained for the defense against attacks from the east.

DW looks at how, three decades later, the Bundeswehr is once again preparing to counter the threat from Moscow.

On day two of a meeting in Brussels, NATO foreign ministers will mark 75 years since the signing in Washington on April 4, 1949, of the North Atlantic Treaty that established the transatlantic political and military alliance.

NATO began with 12 members from North America and Europe and was founded in response to growing fears that the Soviet Union posed a military threat to Western Europe.

Seventy-five years later, NATO has 32 members with the newest members being Finland and Sweden, who joined the alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The NATO diplomats will also meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who told the Reuters news agency that he would press them to provide more Patriot air defense systems to protect against Russian missile attacks.

Thursday will also feature a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of NATO’s formation.

Wednesday saw NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg say that the alliance needed to provide Ukraine with more systematic military support over a longer period, and that Kyiv’s membership in the alliance is a matter of “when, not if.”

Ahead of the meeting, Stoltenberg said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine illustrated that NATO’s security concerns are “global, not regional.”

Stoltenberg declined to comment on a proposal for support for Ukraine worth €100 billion ($108 billion) over the next five years.

A German Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that the proposals would be discussed over the course of the two-day Brussels meeting chaired by Stoltenberg.

The proposals received support from the foreign ministers of NATO members Latvia and Poland, whose countries both share borders with Russia.

Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins said the proposal could be funded if allied members committed “a certain percentage of GDP.”

Also on the agenda is the race to replace Stoltenberg who will be stepping down after nearly a decade of service.

Some ministers had hoped to choose his successor at the talks, with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte reportedly having the backing of 90% of members.

kb/rt (Reuters, dpa)