Trump announces arms deal with NATO for possible tariffs against Russia
During a meeting with NATO chief Mark Latte, Trump announced an arms contract to deliver aid to Ukraine.
WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump has finally found a way to prefer Ukrainian armament.
Now there’s a difficult part. I agree who will in fact abandon their valuable systems, including the Patriot missile batteries that Kiev desperately wanted.
“We’re going to make the best weapons. They’ll be sent to NATO,” Trump said Monday in his oval office.
Some patriot missile defense systems should arrive in Ukraine “within a few days,” Trump added.
The costly Patriot system is in high demand among US allies – has proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles targeting Ukrainian cities.
The US has also shown enthusiasm to send additional offensive weapons under proposals with European allies, and Trump said Ukraine should refrain from attacking Moscow, but sources familiar with the issue said.
According to two sources familiar with the debate, the plan recently hatched by Trump and NATO Governor Mark Latte is being actively received from Ukraine and its allies.
Leaders in Kiev and elsewhere celebrated the loud noise changes from Trump, who had been shining and speaking about Russian President Vladimir Putin until recently.
However, since the announcement it has become clear that Trump has presented a framework – not a fleshed plan. According to 10 US and European officials, how Ukrainian support will ultimately become support for Ukraine will depend on future negotiations about who will provide which equipment.
“As always the devil is in detail with these things,” said Washington’s Northern European Ambassador.
The central question is who will donate the Patriot battery.
Why not spare the patriots?
At an oval office meeting with Trump on Monday, Latte told six countries: Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norwen, the Netherlands and Canada that they would be happy to participate in the arms purchasing scheme.
High-ranking sources at two embassies in two US countries told Reuters they personally learned the plans they had been announced. Even after closing allies, it seemed they knew the proposal in real time.
“It’s my clear feeling that there’s no accurate details given in advance, and I think the administration is just starting to sort out what it actually means,” said another European ambassador.
Kurt Volker, former US ambassador for NATO, said Trump has found a way to balance Ukraine support with Republican political reality. He said that European allies will take on the US arms supply “is very consistent with what he (Trump) said during the campaign.”
Through the campaign, Trump said he would urge European countries to spend more on defense with big applause from the Maga crowd. “You have to pay,” he said. “If they’re going to pay, we’re not going to protect you, right?”
Volker said Ukraine could ultimately receive 12-13 Patriot batteries, but it could take a year for everything to be delivered.
Requested for comment, NATO officials said the Defense Alliance will coordinate weapons delivery through a mechanism known as Ukraine’s NATO Security Assistance and Training, a NATO mission responsible for coordinating military aid in Kiev’s western side.
“Several European countries have already committed to supporting this initiative in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, Canada and Finland,” the official said. “Details are still being discussed.”
In response to a request for comment, the Pentagon introduced Reuters to announce Trump’s Monday remarks with Latte.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment and neither did the Ukrainian or Russian embassy in Washington.
“We’re ready.”
The rapid hardening of Trump’s rhetoric on Moscow in recent weeks has been happening in increasingly firm belief, two US officials said, amid increasingly firm belief that Putin is not engaged in honest negotiations.
“At some point, you know, you don’t talk at the end. It has to be an action. It has to be an outcome,” Trump said in a meeting with Latte on Monday.
One official said Trump noticed Putin’s ambitions spread across four eastern regions of Crimea and Ukraine.
Three Russian sources near the Kremlin said they believe Putin, who has not stopped the war under Western pressure and survived the toughest sanctions imposed by the West, can withstand further economic hardships, including Trump’s Monday threat of impose US tariffs targeting Russian oil.
Three U.S. officials currently involved in weapons issues said the actual work will begin.
Currently, US officials are in discussion with NATO allies who are willing to send what they will send to Ukraine.
European officials are widely accepted.
“We are ready to participate,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Locke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of European Union ministers.
One official cited Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain as good candidates to send Patriot batteries to Kiev, as they have multiple batteries or the threat they face are relatively far apart.
Some, including Greece and Spain, have previously resisted appeals from their allies, providing Ukraine with a portion of their patriot system and claiming it is essential to protect their country and the entire NATO.
Trump’s move to trust the additional weapons heading towards Ukraine created mild friction in Europe.
“When we pay for these weapons, that’s our support,” said EU foreign policy director Kaha Karas, who spoke after the Brussels meeting and added that he welcomed Trump’s decision.
“So it’s European support and we’re doing everything we can to help Ukraine… I promise you to give us a weapon, but if someone else says they’re going to pay for it, is it really not given by you?”
One official said the Trump administration will look at NATO stocks to see what is available. Their next effort is to try and persuade the allies to give Ukraine their attributes equipment in exchange for some sort of “trade,” officials said.
Trade could be a variety, including officials waiving impending acceptance of military equipment through foreign military sales programs and sending ammunition to Ukraine in exchange for an early restocking date.
Trump told reporters there is one country with 17 patriots, some of which will go directly to Ukraine.
The figures have caused widespread confusion between European allies and Capitol Hill, according to US and European officials – many of which have not been explained.
While NATO members, except for the US, do not say they have that number of patriot systems, two sources familiar with the issue have sparked speculation that Trump may refer to certain patriot elements, such as launchers and missiles.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who visited the Pentagon on Monday, said the Germans will discuss sending patriot batteries to Ukraine in the coming days or weeks. However, the Patriot system will not arrive in Kiev for months, he said, but it is likely to delay receipts until months after the tactically important summer.
Another source said Trump has been a “squeeze” so far, but is directly engaged in negotiations.
“So far, people have said, ‘We can help,'” the official said.
“We don’t know what that means now.”
(Reporting by Glam Slattery, Mike Stone and Jonathan Landay of Washington; Additional reports by Steve Holland, Phil Stewart, Sabine Siebold of Washington, Andrew Gray of Brussels, edited by Don Darfey and Michael Learmon).
