Trump promised Ukraine Patriot, but the question is who and when they give them – Reuters

The promise of US President Donald Trump to give Ukraine additional weapons, in particular, Patriot missile defense systems at the expense of partners, has been a surprise even for the US close allies – everything looks like they did not find out in advance at the time of announcement, writes the British news agency Reuters.

Source: Reuters

Literally Agency: “President Donald Trump has finally found a way to like Ukraine: to ask European allies to sacrifice their weapons and sell them American to replace them.

Advertising:

Now comes the most difficult part – to agree on who will actually give its valuable systems, including Patriot missile batteries that Kiev is so desperately looking for. ”

Details: The agency emphasizes that despite Trump’s statement that some Patriot systems should come to Ukraine “for several days”, in fact, it is clear that the US President has presented only a general concept, not a detailed plan.

According to 10 officials in the US and Europe, the scale of support of Ukraine will depend on future negotiations about who will provide Trump’s promised weapons. The main question is who and when it gives the Patriot batteries.

“As always in such cases, the devil lies in detail,” said one of the North European ambassadors in Washington.

The agency emphasizes that Ukraine and its allies have been very positive about the plan, which Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has been developed in recent days, and in general the change in the rhetoric of the US leader in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

But at the same time, some Europeans have disappointed that they actually pay for the account for promising the US president.

While meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, Rutte mentioned six NATO countries – Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada – who are ready to participate in the weapons procurement program.

However, Reuters notes that it was a surprise for US allies.

High -rank sources in the embassies of two of these countries in the United States informed the agency that they personally learned about the plan only when they were announced. Everything is reset that even close US allies have learned about this proposal in real time, Reuters writes.

“I clearly feel that no one has been informed in advance of accurate details. I also suspect that inside the administration is just beginning to understand what it means in practice,” one of the European ambassadors said.

Reuters notes that in response to a request for comment Pentagon, he indicated the agency for Trump’s speech on July 14, in which he announced his agreement with Rutte. The White House, as well as the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, did not answer the comments.

According to three American officials who deal with weapons, real work is now beginning.

In particular, US representatives are currently negotiating with NATO allies and evaluating who and what is ready to send to Ukraine. Reuters emphasizes that European officials are generally positive.

“We are ready to participate,” Denmark Larskke Rasmussen, a meeting of the European Union Ministers on July 15, told reporters in Brussels in Brussels.

One official called Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain with good candidates for sending Patriot battery to Kiev, as they have several batteries or threats they face relatively distant.

Some countries, including Greece and Spain, have previously resisted the calls of the Allies to provide part of their Patriot systems to Ukraine, arguing that they are needed to protect their own countries and NATO as a whole.

Another official said the Trump administration is watching NATO’s stocks to see what is available. The next step is to try to persuade allies to give the equipment to Ukraine in exchange for some “trade”, the official said.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who visited Pentagon on July 14, said that the Germans would discuss the issue of sending Patriot batteries from the United States to Ukraine in the coming days or weeks. But, he said, no Patriot system will arrive in Kiev for several months, which will probably delay it until the end of tactically important summer months.

Another official stated that Trump was directly involved in the negotiations, although they are “uncertain.”

“So far, people say,” We can help. “But what it means, we do not know,” the agency’s interlocutor said.