US Represeative: Currely we do not agree with Ukraine’s ery io NATO
The outgoing represeative of the US in NATO criticized the rece strategy of the European Union in prioritizing the purchase of European weapons and stated that this strategy will lead to consequences for sending weapons to Ukraine and other couries. He also said that America does not agree with inviting Ukraine to join NATO.
According to Isna, France has recely tried to advance a plan for more military self-sufficiency of the European Union following the possibility of Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency.
According to the European Commission’s Strategy for Military Industries, which was unveiled earlier this year, 27 EU couries, including 23 NATO members, recely set a goal that by 2030, half of their military procureme budgets would be spe solely on the purchase of EU-produced weapons. and later increase this perceage to 60% by 2035.
Some members of the European Union, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, have opposed this strategy. In the meaime, France says that it sought to support its own armames industries, while the coury’s industries do not reach the level of other major arms manufacturers such as America and South Korea in terms of volume of production and quick delivery of items. Poland has become one of the biggest buyers of weapons from South Korea.
In an ierview with Politico, Julian Smith, the outgoing represeative of the US in the NATO alliance, said: “It is ieresting and attractive that the European Union is preparing itself to take on a greater share of defense and security responsibilities. Does America have any concerns about how these initiatives will be implemeed? It certainly has.”
Criticizing this strategy of the Europeans, he said: “When the Europeans say that they should buy Europe’s domestic weapons and military equipme, we ask them if you are not going to allow the couries to get the best capability at the best price according to their needs and determination.” Go to vendors who have the items they need and can deliver in the time frame they need? This will sometimes make you go to couries outside the European Union.
The American envoy to NATO coinued: “I respect their long-term and medium-term views, but I am not sure that limiting our purchases to EU couries will help to deliver aid, either to Ukraine or to other couries that lack weapons in the NATO alliance. »
In the coinuation of this ierview, Smith also said that when he assumed his post in late 2021, some European couries were not willing to accept Washington’s ielligence findings about the threat of Russian attack on Ukraine.
He stated: “When I eered the talks of the European heads of state in November and early December, I realized that not all Western allies agreed with the assessme of the Russian threat. Some of these couries argued that Russia, in line with an old tactic, has adopted a threatening arrangeme of its forces behind the borders of Ukraine, and its strategy is not much differe from previous years. Those couries believed that Russia would not cross the borders of Ukraine. But I spe a lot of time in the first weeks of my job inviting reporters from Washington, coinuing conversations and exchanging as much information as possible.”
He said that on February 24, 2022, following the start of the Russian operation in Ukraine, he received a phone call at three in the morning at his residence, which was the most difficult time of his service in NATO.
Julian Smith coinued that the US does not currely agree with the invitation of Ukraine to join NATO, which is one of the main provisions of the so-called victory plan recely preseed by Ukrainian Preside Volodymyr Zelensky.
He stated: “The NATO alliance has not yet reached the poi of readiness to propose Ukraine’s membership in NATO or to invite Ukraine to this membership, and our ieion is to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.”
On the other hand, Smith downplayed the concerns about the possible consequences of Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency for NATO.
He, who was proposed by Joe Biden for the post of US Deputy Secretary of State, said: “For 75 years, US presides from every party have supported this coalition and committed to show leadership in the coalition. “I have every confidence that the United States will also coinue to play that role moving forward regardless of what happens in the November 5th election.”
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