The foreign ministers of the member countries of the Atlantic Alliance are meeting in Prague on Thursday 30 and Friday 31 May for an informal meeting to discuss their support for Ukraine. After a reception with Czech President Petr Pavel on Thursday evening, the ministers will hold informal talks on Friday morning.
“There are a lot of concerns about recent developments” on the ground in Ukraine, explained a NATO diplomat, adding that the question was what to do about them. “We’re thinking about doing more, better and differently in certain areas”, he added, without giving any details.
According to the US ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, the ministers will discuss the supply of equipment, in particular ammunition and air defence systems.
The ministers could also look into lifting the restrictions placed by their countries on Ukraine’s use of their equipment to strike on Russian territory. While some countries have decided to authorise it, others, including the United States, seem more reticent. “We are currently working to get aid to Ukraine so that they can continue to be successful on the battlefield and fend off the Russian offensives that may come in a few days and weeks”, said Ms Smith.
Long-term support for Ukraine could also be discussed. Several allies have signed – or are about to sign – bilateral security agreements. According to one diplomat, it is thanks to these agreements that the Allies will ensure the continuity of their support for Ukraine.
The ministers could discuss the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO. While no invitation to join is expected to be sent out at the Washington summit in July, several Allies would like to see language different to that of Vilnius in the summit declaration on Ukraine’s membership ambitions.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s proposal for a €100 billion fund for Kyiv may be debated. One diplomat pointed out that there were no NATO funds as such, because the money came from the Allies. He added that only 1/3 of the non-lethal assistance Alliance fund, created in February 2022, had been spent.
However, the American ambassador pointed out that the package for Ukraine concerned ways of institutionalising some of the bilateral support for the country, integrating it into NATO, identifying and obtaining additional resources, and also whether or not to appoint some kind of representative to help manage all the Alliance’s actions relating to Ukraine.
Hungary’s demands for withdrawal from any NATO operation in support of Ukraine could also come up for discussion.
On 24 May, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, announced that Hungary was “no longer willing to participate in financial or arms support [to Ukraine], even within the framework of NATO”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)