NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has defended former US President Donald Trump against accusations that he is questioning the military alliance. “Donald Trump did not primarily criticise NATO. His criticism was directed against NATO members who do not invest enough in NATO,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with WELT and US media in Washington on Monday.
Trump recently caused nervousness among allies with comments. He announced that as re-elected president he would not defend negligent NATO partners in the event of a Russian attack. The Republican also repeatedly criticized US military aid to Ukraine during the current election campaign.
Stoltenberg said that Kiev would not be given a concrete date for NATO membership at the July summit in Washington. However, he hoped that “we will find an agreement on an even stronger language that will send a clear message about Ukraine’s perspective on membership. We are currently working on that.”
NATO is also currently working to put Ukraine in a military position “from which it can immediately become a NATO member once political consensus has been reached within the Alliance.”
Stoltenberg stressed that NATO will play a greater role in coordinating arms deliveries to Kiev and training Ukrainian soldiers. Last week, the alliance’s defense ministers decided on a new headquarters, which will be set up in Wiesbaden and will centrally coordinate aid for Ukraine. “By giving NATO a stronger role, we will achieve greater predictability and reliability. This will also reduce the risk of major gaps and delays, and of NATO allies not delivering what they have promised.”
Stoltenberg cited the deadlock in the US Congress, which had blocked billions in aid for Ukraine for six months, as an example of delays. However, some NATO defense ministers had also pushed for the Wiesbaden headquarters because they fear that a re-elected President Trump could block further aid deliveries. Stoltenberg said the establishment of the new headquarters was important, “regardless of who the next US president is.”
When asked whether NATO would train Ukrainian soldiers on Ukrainian soil, Stoltenberg said: “NATO has no plans to conduct training inside Ukraine. NATO will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers outside Ukraine.” However, several EU states, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, are currently preparing to send soldiers to Ukraine for training missions.
Stoltenberg is in Washington to prepare for the NATO summit marking the 75th anniversary of the military alliance, which will take place in the USA next month. He is scheduled to meet US President Joe Biden on Monday afternoon (local time). The meeting from July 9 to 11 will be the last summit chaired by the Norwegian. Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is considered the most promising candidate to succeed Stoltenberg.
