NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is said to have floated a €100 ($108 billion) package over five years for Ukraine. Diplomats say the aim is to have an aid package ready before the NATO summit in July. According to Reuters under the plan, Nato will take over some of the coordination work from a US-led ad-hoc coalition known as the Ramstein group. Five diplomats say that this is a bid to ensure support to Ukraine in case Donald Trump were to come to office. The proposal is expected to be discussed at a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday and Thursday, with the aim of finalising a package in time for a NATO summit in Washington in July.
The developments come as the $60-billion US funding package has been blocked by Republicans in Congress. The former president had caused alarm among NATO when he threatened to encourage Moscow to attack NATO members who were not meeting their financial obligations.
The discussions have gained further currency as Stoltenberg is set to down from his role in October this year. According to an Al Jazeera report the US, UK, France, and Germany have all thrown their weight behind outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to become NATO’s next secretary general. Rutte has won over all but four NATO countries for his bid to become the alliance’s next secretary-general, with officials confident he can seal a full house before July’s leaders’ summit. However, he faces challenges from Hungary and Romania.
The United States has made it clear to our allies, our NATO allies, that we believe Mr Rutte would be an excellent secretary general for NATO,” US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told journalists in February.
Rutte has made his support for Kiev clear when he warned in December last year that EU leaders should be prepared to back Ukraine with significant extra financing. This was after both Washington and Brussels had lagged in both financing and weaponry to Ukraine.
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