At a time when the peace process seems to be stalling, the Foreign Ministers of the allied countries backed the American efforts and reiterated their support for Ukraine on Wednesday 3 December.
“Peace talks are ongoing. That’s good, but at the same time, we have to make sure that, whilst they take place, and we are not sure when they will end, that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the Russians, but also in the strongest possible position when peace talks really get to a point where they sit at the table”, summed up NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Several Ministers stressed that Russia did not want peace. “That’s why we need to stick to the two-point plan, increase support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia. We need to hit them where it hurts most, and that is the oil and gas revenues”, explained the Swedish Minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard. Mark Rutte, emphasised the fight against the Russian shadow fleet, while the EU is working to sanction more vessels from this fleet. Discussions are said to be underway between Member States on nine vessels.
“We must both continue these diplomatic efforts and, of course, continue to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin’s regime. (...) This is what we are doing by continuing our military support for Ukraine and this is also what we are doing by thinking about the parameters for the day after, because, of course, we must not allow a ceasefire to be used tomorrow as a parenthesis, as a truce by Russia to remake itself, to rearm and to attack Ukraine again”, added the French Minister for European Affairs, Benjamin Haddad.
PURL should be expecting five billion by the end of the year
The Ministers discussed military support for Ukraine, notably via the PURL (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List) initiative. The German Minister, Johann Wadephul, the Polish Minister, Radosław Sikorski, and the Norwegian Minister, Espen Barth Eide, announced a package of US $500 million for ‘immediate payment’. Of these funds, 200 million will come from Germany, announced Mr Wadephul.
The Canadian Minister, Anita Anand, announced a contribution of $200 million from her country, giving a total of $890 million over the last six months. The Dutch Minister, David van Weel, pointed out that his country would be providing a further €250 million to PURL.
“The Nordic countries are providing a third of the total military support given by NATO countries to Ukraine this year. That’s a lot of money for our five countries, which have less than 30 million people, but it says a lot about what other countries could do. If we don’t act now, it will cost us a lot more in the future”, warned the Swedish Minister. On 15 November, the Nordic and Baltic countries (Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden) announced support of €500 million for PURL. “This effort must continue. All other countries should also increase their support”, insisted Estonian Minister Margus Tsahkna on his arrival.
According to Mark Rutte, “more than two-thirds of the Allies are now committed to PURL”. He announced that partner countries Australia and New Zealand would “also contribute” to the initiative. “They are the first national partners to do so”, he added.
According to the General Secretary, the new and forthcoming contributions will make it possible to reach “the five billion planned for the year” 2025. He urged the Allies to step up their efforts “not only for this winter, but also for planning” for the 2026 year.
“We will need a significant sum, at least one billion, if not a little more, per month”, he explained, adding that “this could represent around 50 billion, perhaps a little more, for the whole year”.
In addition to PURL, the NATO Secretary General recalled the Danish-Lithuanian initiative to invest in Ukraine’s defence industrial base, the Czech initiative on munitions and all the bilateral support given to Ukraine.
Other financial announcements were also made. The Canadian Minister also announced $35 million in support for the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) for Ukraine, which will be used to supply fuel and medical equipment, among other things.
The British Secretary of State, Yvette Cooper, has announced £10 million in aid to Ukraine to support infrastructure repairs, because Russia is targeting energy and electrical equipment. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)