Ukraine expects Nato summit to discuss funding despite trouble securing backing, envoy says

Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey expects NATO to discuss financial support for Kyiv at the July 7-8 summit in Ankara. Kyiv hopes President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend and wants NATO members to reaffirm support for Ukraine’s goal of joining the alliance. Ukraine relies on international aid to meet budget needs and fund the war with Russia. Zelensky previously urged partners to allocate 0.25% of GDP to help ramp up weapons production, and NATO leadership floated a similar idea for members except the US. Resistance has limited traction, but diplomats report ongoing discussions on ways to demonstrate support. The ambassador suggested a mechanism where each member contributes a small portion of finances, while Germany proposed increased European bilateral aid, including €30bn.

"Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said he expects Nato to discuss financial support for Kyiv at its summit in July, suggesting each member contributes a small proportion of its ​budget, despite the ​proposal not gaining traction with allies."

"Ambassador Nariman Dzhelialov told Reuters on Tuesday he hoped Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky would attend the July 7-8 summit in Ankara, adding Kyiv also wants members to reaffirm support for Ukraine's strategic goal of joining the military alliance. Kyiv depends on international aid to cover its budgetary needs and fund the war with Russia."

""A mechanism here [could be] one in which every Nato member contributes a part of their finances to support strengthening Ukraine's security capabilities," he said, acknowledging that not every ally wants to allocate resources as they try to boost their own defences in line with Nato rules. "But we are not saying 'give us 100pc', just a very small piece," he said, without elaborating."

"Mr Zelensky called last June for Western partners to allocate 0.25pc of their GDP to helping Kyiv ramp up weapons production and officials said Nato boss Mark Rutte had floated the idea of alliance members - except the US - spending that amount for Ukraine. However, the idea has faced resistance and Mr Rutte said last week that he did not believe it would be accepted."

Read at Irish Independent