France and Italy will not take part in a new NATO-led initiative to finance the delivery of U.S. weapons to Ukraine, Politico and La Stampa reported on July 16, citing undisclosed government officials in both countries.
Despite being a long-standing supporter of Ukraine, France has opted out of the plan, which was unveiled during U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington on July 14. Under this scheme, NATO will purchase advanced arms from the U.S., including air defense systems, and deliver some of them to Ukraine.
According to two French officials, France declined to join the plan because of President Emmanuel Macron’s push for European nations to strengthen their own defense industries by purchasing domestically produced arms. France is also contending with budget constraints and rising defense spending targets amid broader economic pressures, Politico wrote.
Italy, meanwhile, has taken a similar position. According to La Stampa, Italian officials ruled out direct purchases of U.S. weapons, citing fiscal limitations and the country’s focus on different technological systems, such as the Italian-French-made SAMP/T air defense system already supplied to Ukraine.
Commenting on the NATO-U.S. weapons funding plan, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski argued that the cost of arming Ukraine should not fall on European taxpayers but be covered by Russia’s frozen assets instead.
The new arms plan for Ukraine will include new air defenses for Ukraine, which Kyiv has been asking for weeks, as Russia intensified its attacks against Ukrainian cities. The initiative was pitched by Germany and Rutte, and is seen as a workaround to Trump’s hesitance to send direct U.S. aid, according to Politico.
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France and Italy will not take part in a new NATO-led initiative to finance the delivery of U.S. weapons to Ukraine, Politico and La Stampa reported on July 16, citing undisclosed government officials in both countries.
Despite being a long-standing supporter of Ukraine, France has opted out of the plan, which was unveiled during U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington on July 14. Under this scheme, NATO will purchase advanced arms from the U.S., including air defense systems, and deliver some of them to Ukraine.
According to two French officials, France declined to join the plan because of President Emmanuel Macron’s push for European nations to strengthen their own defense industries by purchasing domestically produced arms. France is also contending with budget constraints and rising defense spending targets amid broader economic pressures, Politico wrote.
Italy, meanwhile, has taken a similar position. According to La Stampa, Italian officials ruled out direct purchases of U.S. weapons, citing fiscal limitations and the country’s focus on different technological systems, such as the Italian-French-made SAMP/T air defense system already supplied to Ukraine.
Commenting on the NATO-U.S. weapons funding plan, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski argued that the cost of arming Ukraine should not fall on European taxpayers but be covered by Russia’s frozen assets instead.
The new arms plan for Ukraine will include new air defenses for Ukraine, which Kyiv has been asking for weeks, as Russia intensified its attacks against Ukrainian cities. The initiative was pitched by Germany and Rutte, and is seen as a workaround to Trump’s hesitance to send direct U.S. aid, according to Politico.
I’m shocked, truly shocked!
https://preview.redd.it/kznw6fbjo8df1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4e711ec97caa4df5f13a96d8c67ea5ab55f977b
So they’ll be ramping up production at their state owned arsenals instead?