Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez believes that NATO and the EU should avoid “duplication” in providing assistance to Ukraine amid the alliance’s initiative to create a financial fund to support Kyiv.
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As the diplomat said upon arrival at a meeting of the heads of foreign affairs of NATO countries in Brussels, Madrid supports “predictability in the issue of transferring funds to Ukraine.”
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“We have to look at what is the best combination of support for Ukraine from all of us, what NATO should do, what the EU should do, what we should do bilaterally,” the minister added.
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According to him, Spain is in favor of “no duplication” between organizations. “What we should under no circumstances do is duplicate efforts,” the diplomat said.
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It is expected that during a meeting in Brussels, the heads of foreign affairs departments will discuss the creation of a fund for the supply of weapons to Kyiv within five years.
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On April 2, it became known that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would propose at the alliance summit in the United States in July to create a fund of $100 billion to pay for arms supplies to Ukraine for five years, as well as transfer the coordination of all military supplies to Kyiv from the United States to NATO control.
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Stoltenberg’s proposals should become compensation to Ukraine for NATO’s refusal to invite the country to the alliance. In turn, the Financial Times newspaper noted that this will likely allow the United States to reduce planned assistance to Ukraine from $60 billion to $16 billion.
