NATO members willing to buy US weapons for Ukraine despite Greenland tensions

NATO member states will continue to fund the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme, through which European and other NATO allies purchase US-made weapons for Ukraine, despite the recent crisis in European-US relations.

Source: Alona Hetmanchuk, Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, speaking to journalists in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda

Details: In response to a question from European Pravda, Hetmanchuk acknowledged that at the height of the crisis there had been concerns that arms supplies could be affected, putting the outcome Ukraine needs at risk.

She said that given the level of transatlantic tension, there had been concerns that amid the Greenland crisis and, to an extent, the negotiation process, it would be difficult to secure the outcome Ukraine requires in terms of military needs.

However, Hetmanchuk said there are currently no signs that the issue will affect funding for future purchases.

She said she has not heard representatives of any country say that they will withhold funding over differences with the US position on Greenland, or suggest that an imminent ceasefire means there is no longer an urgent need to provide money or weapons for Ukraine.

Hetmanchuk noted, however, that the uneven distribution of the financial burden among the Allies is a problem and the biggest obstacle to funding. She added that some countries have already made several substantial contributions while others have yet to make a single one.

Background:

• The United States is expecting NATO member states to announce new pledges to purchase American weapons for Ukraine under the PURL programme when NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels on 12 February.
• US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker earlier named the three countries that have bought the most US weapons for Ukraine under the PURL programme: Germany, the Netherlands and Norway.

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