The NATO countries, Sweden and Ukraine have discussed increasing arms aid at a meeting held in Brussels. Finland is preparing a new aid package.
BRUSSELS Finland is preparing a new arms aid package for Ukraine. The Minister of Defense representing the Ministry of Transport Antti Kaikkonen (central) informed about the matter in connection with the NATO ministerial meeting.
– Finland has delivered sixteen packages of defense material to Ukraine and I have put the seventeenth package in preparation, Kaikkonen tells .
Kaikkonen did not reveal the contents of the next aid package in more detail. According to him, Ukraine’s needs are taken into account in the whole.
– We have just received fresh information at the meeting about what kind of needs Ukraine has, and those wishes will be taken into account.
The new aid package will be decided by the future government, Kaikkonen states. He says that he discussed the matter with the government’s constituents Petteri Orpon (coc.) with.
– He was positive about it.
According to Kaikkonen, supporting Ukraine has the broad support of both Finns and politicians. He believes that the future government will continue sending defense aid to Ukraine.
There is speculation about the general secretary
The defense ministers also discuss increasing the member countries’ defense investments.
Currently, most member countries do not spend the two percent of their gross domestic product that NATO hopes for their defense spending.
According to Kaikkonen, the situation is about to change.
– The spirit here seems to be that two percent is the floor rather than the ceiling.
The appointment of the next secretary general of the defense alliance is also being discussed in the corridors of NATO. It is possible that the Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg are asked to continue in their duties.
Stoltenberg commented on the speculations in the morning by stating that the decision to continue is in the hands of the member states. He denied that he was seeking another term as secretary general.
According to Kaikkonen, it is not excluded that Stoltenberg would continue in his position. Otherwise, Kaikkonen did not take a position on the selection of the general secretary.
A historic meeting
The defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels is the first in which Finland participates as a full member of NATO. According to Kaikkonen, a “historic two-day event” is at hand.
As a NATO member, Finland gets to participate in all NATO’s decision-making tables, including the nuclear defense planning group, which meets tomorrow.
Sweden will participate in the meeting as an observer member of NATO. Kaikkonen hopes that Sweden will become a full member as soon as possible.
– It is possible that Sweden could be a member in Vilnius, but unfortunately we may have to wait even longer, Kaikkonen states.
In addition to Sweden, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine has been invited to the meeting in Brussels It would be Reznikov and the High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell.
Some of the discussions at the meeting will only take place between NATO member countries.