NATO chief Stoltenberg wants to prepare for the US failure

So far, weapons aid for Ukraine has been voluntary commitments from individual NATO states. The USA could soon no longer be a central supporter. Secretary General Stoltenberg is already making plans to prepare the alliance for this

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg does not address the magic number. 100 billion euros for Ukraine in the next five years? “It is clear that we need more money for Ukraine, and that for several years,” he explained.

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lhabib was also cautious about this amount: “It is dangerous to make promises that we cannot keep,” she said in Brussels at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the NATO countries.

NATO should take the lead

So there should be more money for Ukraine – and it should be permanent, robust and reliable, as Stoltenberg repeatedly emphasized. The attacked country cannot depend on “voluntary donations” but needs commitments from NATO. Stoltenberg also clearly criticized the USA because it has not released money for Ukraine for months. An unusual scolding for the otherwise diplomatic NATO chief.

“We had already launched a special fund. That would be a possibility,” said Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock about the plans. Before NATO’s 75th anniversary, which will be celebrated on a small scale in Brussels tomorrow, the outgoing Secretary General wants to give the alliance more influence.

Management is still with Americans

Stoltenberg ends in autumn. His successor is to be the Dutchman Mark Rutte. He will probably support this new strategy. This includes more money, but also the coordination of military aid to Ukraine, training of soldiers and better networking of the country with NATO systems.

So far, some of these tasks have been fulfilled by the so-called Ramstein format. Under the leadership of the Americans, up to 50 countries met regularly at the military base in Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate to coordinate aid for Ukraine. Should this format then be abolished?

“We already have a lot of coordination and I appreciate the Ramstein format,” said Stoltenberg. “We have many multilateral and bilateral initiatives. It is necessary to give this a robust and sustainable framework to ensure predictability and commitment for a long time.”

The “Trump” scenario

In fact, there are many bodies that want to support Ukraine and need money from member states to do so, such as NATO and the European Union. There is also the NATO-Ukraine Council, the Ramstein Format and many countries, including Germany, that help Ukraine directly.

A total of 32 billion euros in civil and military aid has been provided so far, said Foreign Minister Baerbock in Brussels. Some diplomats in Brussels describe the move as “Trump-proof.” If the next US president scales back support for NATO, the alliance would be prepared.

A message to Moscow

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended the meeting. However, he arrived a little late because his government plane broke down. Instead of taking a plane, he had to travel from Paris to Brussels by car.

In any case, Stoltenberg left no doubt that NATO was sending a message to Moscow with its new initiative. “The sooner Russia realizes that they are not winning on the battlefield, the sooner we will reach a peace agreement,” he said.

Nothing has been decided these days. Everything is in preparation for the NATO summit in July in Washington. Then the anniversary should also be properly celebrated with the heads of state and government.