Rabat – US President Donald Trump signed a weapons agreement with NATO allies yesterday, during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The deal allocates billions of dollars in military equipment to be sent via NATO countries to Ukraine to support the war effort.
The president did not go into detail about the price of the weapons supply, although confirmed reports state that it will include Patriot Missiles. Trump did however make it clear that it would be paid for by European countries.
Mark Rutte has confirmed that there are several NATO countries prepared to help Ukraine including Canada, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.
The signed agreement was described by Trump as, “fully approved and done, we’ll send them a lot of weapons of all kinds and they’re going to deliver these weapons immediately.”
In yet another blow in the relationship between the two heads of state, Trump asserted that he is “disapointed, but not done” with Vladimir Putin, but threatened that if he does not come up with a peace pact with Ukraine within 50 days, the US will slap severe 100 percent secondary sanctions on all Russian exports. This includes sanctions on countries that purchase Russian oil as well.
The weapon package allocated in the NATO deal is vital for Ukraine as the country continues to suffer from continual aerial bombardment and drone strikes from Russia.
However, the agreement has been opposed by several prominent members of the Republican Party including Majorie Taylor Greene and Steve Bannon. It is seen as a clear departure from Trump’s previous position that he often talked about in his campaign run, saying that he would block weapons going to Ukraine and that Kyiv would not be able to prevail.
Trump U-Turns on Ukraine
The new deal shows a strong sign of support on behalf of the US, but does not mend the troubled history between Volodymir Zelensky and Trump. The Ukrainian president humiliated Trump during his first impeachment inquiry in 2019 with the phone call fiasco, and Trump returned the favor in the shouting match that erupted this past February.
Despite this, Trump stated yesterday that the Ukrainians had “fought with tremendous courage” and that “Europe has a lot of spirit for this war.”
Kremlin insiders and Russian officials have shrugged off the announcement stating that it wasn’t very important within the grand scheme of the war.
Kyiv welcomed the announcement where anxieties had been high about the level of American support and Trump’s intentions based on previous responses.
The world will now have to wait and see if this weapons supply will be enough to limit the scope of the offensive.
