“The case is undeniably urgent, because while the Russian-Ukrainian conflict continues, Moscow is already preparing for the next move. We can already see that the Kremlin is seeking to rebuild its army. NATO allies must overtake Russia. We have no other choice” – said the diplomat during the online briefing announcing the Thursday meeting of the Alliance defense ministers.
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One goal: Higher expenses
“Let me say clearly: it's time. This means investing in mobility to be able to transport forces across borders, investing in cyberbrona, to repel attacks, and invest in infrastructure to protect everything from space resources to undersea cables ” – he added.
As Whitaker said, The main message of the USA both at the Thursday meeting and the upcoming NATO summit in Hague will focus around the number of 5 percent. – that is, the purpose of defense expenses that all your alliance countries should meet according to Washington.
Whitaker said that the time prospects for reaching this level of defense expenditure are still the subject of negotiations, just like what expenses could be included in this category. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte proposes that allies reach a level of 5 percent. until 2032, including 1.5 percent would constitute expenses for military infrastructure.
“President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete HegeSth appealed for a reliable path to achieve the goal of 5 percent. We cannot have another declaration as from the NATO summit in Wales, predicting the path of 10-11 years and a chart of investigation in the shape of a hockey stick” – said Whitaker.
In this way he recalled the peak from 2014, at which NATO countries undertook to allocate at least 2 percent. GDP for defense; This commitment began to be fulfilled only in recent years.
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“We ask all allies to increase budgets (defensive) as soon as possible, although we are aware that neither the United States nor their ambassador set a schedule here. Our opponents do this and their ability to wage war with an alliance” – he noted.
US ambassador to NATO about support for Ukraine
He refused to speculate about what would happen if any NATO state, e.g. Spain, will block the alliance's decision in this matter. He expressed the expectation that all the alliance countries would support the initiative.
When asked about continuing the US support for Ukraine, Whitaker said that no decisions had been made in this matter, but he emphasized that the USA is counting that Europe would take over the guiding role in this matter.
“European countries have an interest in providing peace on their continent and the United States will continue to do everything in their power to support them,” he declared.
