By AFP | 2024-06-04

PRAGUE -- NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on May 31 called on members to commit to keeping annual military aid for Ukraine at a minimum of €40 billion ($43 billion), after foreign ministers from alliance countries debated long-term support for Kyiv.

"Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, allies have provided approximately €40 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine each year. We must maintain at least this level of support each year, for as long as necessary," Stoltenberg told journalists after the foreign ministers met in Prague.

"I have also proposed that allies should share this burden equitably," he said.

He said he wanted NATO's 32 countries to hammer out the "multi-year financial pledge for Ukraine" so it could be announced at a summit of leaders in Washington in July.

"We need a firm commitment for the long haul to ensure that Ukraine is able to plan, to ensure that Ukraine has the predictability they need to conduct this war of self-defense," Stoltenberg said.

He said that one way to measure each country's commitment could be to base it on GDP, but the plan was not finalized.

"We will now start the work on the details of such a financial pledge," he said.

Over two years into Russia's war on Ukraine, Stoltenberg is seeking to put NATO's support on a firmer footing.

In April, Stoltenberg floated an overall target figure of €100 billion ($108 billion) over five years for Ukraine support.

'Trillion-dollar question'

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky welcomed Stoltenberg's latest proposal. It seems manageable as it represents only a small fraction of defense expenditure, he said.

Ensuring that countries stick to their commitments, though, is "the trillion-dollar question," he said.

One area where NATO seems closer to a final agreement is a plan for the alliance to take over from the US coordination of weapon supplies to Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said NATO had furthered the "plans to play a greater coordinating role in the provision of equipment and training."

"Practically all military aid to Ukraine -– 99% -– comes from NATO allies. So, it makes sense that NATO should play a greater role in these efforts," he said.