Coalition of Willing to hold new meeting soon – Merz
In the coming days, a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing will take place via video conference.
This was announced by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a briefing following the conclusion of the NATO summit, according to Ukrinform, as reported by Censor.NET.
"At the initiative of several NATO member states, another videoconference of the so-called Coalition of the Willing will take place in the coming days," politician said.
He noted that the promised aid to Ukraine is coming from many countries and regions around the world.
Commenting on the fact that the summit did not result in any new decisions regarding Ukraine, such as specific commitments or a renewed membership promise, Merz assured that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "knows that no new decisions need to be made here, but that we offer unconditional support to this war-torn country."
According to the German chancellor, the current NATO summit was another strong signal of support, and the final declaration commits all member states to continue backing Ukraine. Ultimately, Merz added, increased defense spending allows the Alliance to support not only its own armies but also Ukraine.
"We agreed to provide Ukraine with €40 billion in 2024 and 2025. I hope we will be able to reach that level even this year," the German leader said.
He added that commitments to support Ukraine are being coordinated both among NATO member states and beyond.
Regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership, Merz stated that this issue is currently not on the agenda.
"It cannot even be on the agenda, because NATO does not admit member states that are currently engaged in war on their own territory. So today there was absolutely no reason to go beyond what has already been decided and reopen the discussion," the German chancellor said.
As a reminder, the NATO summit is taking place in The Hague on June 24 and 25.
Earlier, it was reported that NATO leaders agreed on a final declaration committing their countries to annually invest 5% of their GDP in core defense needs.
