British Foreign Minister David Cameron on Wednesday called for NATO allies to bolster defense spending and production in support of Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
“Allies need to step up and spend more on defense in the face of continued Russian aggression and a more dangerous world,” Cameron will say in a speech on the occasion of 75 years of NATO history since its founding April 4, 1949.
The British minister will ask the allies to endorse British-led initiatives to procure NATO standard missiles and munitions for the Ukrainian armed forces. The UK has spent billions of dollars in its support for Ukraine since 2022 when the invasion began.
“With Ukraine closer to NATO than ever, we must sustain the critical support Ukraine needs to win the war,” Cameron said.
Speaking at a meeting of NATO’s foreign ministers, Cameron will also welcome Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom to the NATO alliance.
Sweden officially joined NATO in March, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its national security policy and conclude that support for the alliance was the Scandinavian nation’s best guarantee of safety.
Cameron also pointed to NATO’s commitment to integrating Ukraine into the alliance, reaffirming all allies’ consensus on Ukraine’s future NATO membership.
In February, Britain had announced a new package of sanctions against Russia and said it was seeking to diminish Russian President Vladimir Putin’s weapons arsenal and war chest.
UK’s Cameron calls for increased NATO spending amid Ukraine conflict
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UK’s Cameron calls for increased NATO spending amid Ukraine conflict
- The UK has spent billions of dollars in its support for Ukraine since 2022 when the invasion began
Ukraine, US, Europe still seeking common ground in peace talks, French official says
- French presidency official: “The European perspective of Ukraine is clear and it’s a realistic perspective”
PARIS: Ukraine, the United States and European powers are still working to find a joint position that would outline the contours of a peace deal, including security guarantees for Kyiv, that could be taken to Russia, a French presidency official said on Friday.
“Our goal is to have a common foundation that is solid for negotiation. This common ground must unite Ukrainians, Americans and Europeans,” the official told reporters in a briefing.
“It should allow us, together, to make a negotiating offer, a solid, lasting peace offer that respects international law and Ukraine’s sovereign interests, an offer that American negotiators are willing to bring to the Russians.”
The official said there was no joint document yet, but all sides would carry on negotiations in the coming days through various calls and meetings. He did not say whether Washington had set a deadline.
Kyiv is under pressure from the White House to secure a quick peace but is pushing back on a US-backed plan proposed last month that many see as favorable to Moscow.
Britain, France and Germany, along with other European partners and Ukraine, have been working frantically in the last few weeks to refine the original US proposals that envisaged Kyiv giving up swathes of its territory to Moscow, abandoning its ambition to join NATO and accepting limits on the size of its armed forces.
The French official said the talks aimed at narrowing differences with the United States and centered on territory and potential security guarantees for Ukraine once there is a peace accord.
Those discussions include the possibility of a NATO Article-5 type clause involving Washington that would seek to reassure Kyiv in case it was once again attacked by Russia, the official said.
The Europeans have also faced pressure in recent weeks with some American proposals touching on elements that concern NATO and the European Union, including suggestions on fast-tracking Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.
“The European perspective of Ukraine is clear and it’s a realistic perspective,” the official said. “That is what we are committed to and it is up to the Europeans and the Ukrainians to agree on how to proceed.”
