Update(1600ET): Secretary of State Antony Blinken just dropped an ultra-provocative bombshell statement which is sure rile Moscow further. He told reporters Thursday in Brussels, where foreign ministers are meeting to prepare for the alliance's annual meeting in July: "Ukraine will become a member of NATO. Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership."
The meeting will mark the 75th anniversary that the alliance was established. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is meanwhile trying to get all 32 members to commit to long-term military funding for Ukraine, to the tune of $100 billion over a five-year period. He's hoping for final agreement to be reached at the July meeting, current holdouts like Hungary notwithstanding.
As The Hill has noted, "NATO allies agreed at the 2023 summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, that Ukraine can join NATO when certain conditions are met, but sparked criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Baltic allies for failing to set concrete goals and a timeline for Kyiv to join the alliance."
For the Kremlin these are fighting words. At a moment Ukraine forces are fairing badly on the battlefield, Blinken has just needlessly poured more fuel on the fire, which follows on the heels President Macron raising the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.
NATO members have agreed to begin planning military support for Ukraine on a long-terms basis, in but the latest indicator assuring both escalation with Russia and that the war will drag on for possibly years more to come.
On Wednesday NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that allies have "agreed to move forward with planning for a greater NATO role in coordinating security assistance and training." But it will still be an uphill battle to get some of the 'outlier' members on board.
He also said that Ukraine's government and military still has "urgent needs" and that "any delay in providing support has consequences on the battlefield as we speak."
"We must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul so that we rely less on the voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments, less on short-term offers and more on multiyear pledges," Stoltenberg said. "The reason why we do this is the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine. It is serious … We see how Russia is pushing, and we see how they try to win this war by just waiting us out."
Stoltenberg's words come the day after he unveiled a $100 billion, five-year fund for Ukraine which he subsequently pitched to alliance foreign ministers as they met Wednesday.
It is meant to both close the gap after Biden's proposed $60 billion has been stymied by Republicans in US Congress, and in future expectation of a possible Trump victory after November.
Stoltenberg said a final decision on the $100 billion fund would be made at a July summit of NATO member state leaders; however, the big hurdle will be achieving the required consensus among the 32 members,
Hungary has already announced its "opposition to increasing NATO’s coordination role in arms deliveries and training Ukrainian forces, refusing to participate in planning, operations, or funding," according to a foreign ministry statement.
Thus Brussels is in for yet another fight with its wayward Hungarian member state led by Viktor Orban, who has time and again vowed to reject any measure which could pave a path of escalation to WW3 with Russia.
But Stoltenberg is already seeking to calm Budapest's fears and bring it on board. "What we are discussing is not a NATO combat presence in Ukraine. We are discussing how we can coordinate and deliver support from outside Ukraine to Ukraine as NATO allies do," Stoltenberg said. "And now when we initiate planning, I’m certain we can also address the concerns that Hungary has raised and find a way where we can have consensus."
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The meeting will mark the 75th anniversary that the alliance was established. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is meanwhile trying to get all 32 members to commit to long-term military funding for Ukraine, to the tune of $100 billion over a five-year period. He's hoping for final agreement to be reached at the July meeting, current holdouts like Hungary notwithstanding.
As The Hill has noted, "NATO allies agreed at the 2023 summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, that Ukraine can join NATO when certain conditions are met, but sparked criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Baltic allies for failing to set concrete goals and a timeline for Kyiv to join the alliance."
For the Kremlin these are fighting words. At a moment Ukraine forces are fairing badly on the battlefield, Blinken has just needlessly poured more fuel on the fire, which follows on the heels President Macron raising the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.
NATO members have agreed to begin planning military support for Ukraine on a long-terms basis, in but the latest indicator assuring both escalation with Russia and that the war will drag on for possibly years more to come.
On Wednesday NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that allies have "agreed to move forward with planning for a greater NATO role in coordinating security assistance and training." But it will still be an uphill battle to get some of the 'outlier' members on board.
He also said that Ukraine's government and military still has "urgent needs" and that "any delay in providing support has consequences on the battlefield as we speak."
"We must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul so that we rely less on the voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments, less on short-term offers and more on multiyear pledges," Stoltenberg said. "The reason why we do this is the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine. It is serious … We see how Russia is pushing, and we see how they try to win this war by just waiting us out."
Stoltenberg's words come the day after he unveiled a $100 billion, five-year fund for Ukraine which he subsequently pitched to alliance foreign ministers as they met Wednesday.
It is meant to both close the gap after Biden's proposed $60 billion has been stymied by Republicans in US Congress, and in future expectation of a possible Trump victory after November.
Stoltenberg said a final decision on the $100 billion fund would be made at a July summit of NATO member state leaders; however, the big hurdle will be achieving the required consensus among the 32 members,
Hungary has already announced its "opposition to increasing NATO’s coordination role in arms deliveries and training Ukrainian forces, refusing to participate in planning, operations, or funding," according to a foreign ministry statement.
Thus Brussels is in for yet another fight with its wayward Hungarian member state led by Viktor Orban, who has time and again vowed to reject any measure which could pave a path of escalation to WW3 with Russia.
But Stoltenberg is already seeking to calm Budapest's fears and bring it on board. "What we are discussing is not a NATO combat presence in Ukraine. We are discussing how we can coordinate and deliver support from outside Ukraine to Ukraine as NATO allies do," Stoltenberg said. "And now when we initiate planning, I’m certain we can also address the concerns that Hungary has raised and find a way where we can have consensus."
Blinken Bombshell: "Ukraine Will Become A Member Of NATO" | ZeroHedge
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