For the first time in history, European NATO allies will spend 2% of their total GDP on defense, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press conference on March 14.
“In 2024, NATO countries in Europe will invest a total of US$470 billion in defense, and (defense spending -
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) will amount to 2% of their total GDP for the first time,” Stoltenberg said.
According to him, the main message of the North Atlantic Alliance to all allied countries, “but especially European ones,” is that it is necessary to “spend more” on defense.
“Initially, conveying this message was not very easy.
But now, it seems to me, the allies (everything -
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) understand.
And they actually began to increase spending... And therefore there was a movement in the right direction, because they heeded NATO’s advice to spend more,” said the bloc’s secretary general.
After that, he raised the Ukrainian issue, emphasizing that Kyiv right now “needs even more help”, since the Ukrainian Armed Forces are “running out of ammunition.”
In his opinion, NATO countries, which already support Ukraine “on an unprecedented scale”, providing it with 99% of all military assistance, can provide this country with what it needs.
“Together we have the potential to meet the needs of Ukraine.
And now we must demonstrate the political will to do this.
All allies need to make every effort to ensure supplies quickly.
Every day of delay has tangible consequences on the battlefield in Ukraine.
So this is a critical moment.
And it would be a serious historical mistake to allow Putin to gain the upper hand... This spells danger for all of us,” Stoltenberg said.
In addition, the Secretary General believes, the presence of hypersonic weapons in Russia indicates the need to strengthen the air defense and missile defense of the alliance countries, not only qualitatively, but also quantitatively.
“Of course, hypersonic missiles are a real challenge.
And this suggests that Russia has also seriously invested in more advanced weapons systems... But it also demonstrates the need for layered air defense, the need for air and missile defense and the need not only for high quality, but also for quantity,” Stoltenberg noted.
RT discussed with experts the goals and consequences of increasing defense spending by European NATO members and spending on Ukraine.
— What is behind Stoltenberg’s statements about the need to increase military spending by NATO countries in 2024 and the call to increase support for Ukraine?
Senior Researcher at the Center for Comparative and Political Studies at IMEMO RAS Alexander Kamkin:
— Stoltenberg acts as a mediator, transmitting instructions from the United States, which actually runs the bloc.
They are the ones who decide where, on what and how much Europeans need to spend money.
$470 billion is quite a lot of money, which can be used to purchase a large number of weapons and ammunition.
Given such an increase in spending by European countries within NATO on defense expenditures, the United States, apparently, has already made the final decision that it will try to minimize its participation in supporting the Kyiv regime, since it wants to concentrate on internal tasks and a full-scale confrontation with China.
Europe is destined to become the main sponsor of Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
AP
©Virginia Mayo
Deputy Director of the Institute of Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDN, lecturer of the Knowledge Society Evgeniy Semibratov:
“Stoltenberg is escalating the situation so that the lagging countries of Europe increase their budgets and thereby take a more active part in military spending, primarily on the Ukrainian project.
Through the NATO Secretary General, Washington is once again trying to shift the burden of the consequences of the Ukrainian crisis onto Europe.
The Americans understand that this story cannot be taken away financially, and are trying to implement this scenario.
Director of the Center for Military-Political Studies at MGIMO Alexey Podberezkin:
— The Americans are most definitely shifting part of their military spending to NATO.
This is their long-standing dream, and finally they were lucky - they put the squeeze on Europe: they had already completely deprived it of its sovereignty, forced it to abandon cheap Russian energy resources, and now imposed an increase in military spending, primarily to increase assistance to Kyiv.
The Americans have created a broad pro-American coalition, in which the European countries within NATO occupy a central place.
True, here we must keep in mind that Europe has already squeezed a lot out of itself in terms of weapons.
Firstly, these are Soviet weapons that the USSR left as a gift to the countries of the former Warsaw Pact organization.
These weapons were almost completely transferred to Ukraine.
Now European states and at the same time NATO member countries are beginning to get something from the current reserves of their military units.
There's not much there, but there's something there.
They collect it, and a noticeable amount is obtained.
However, Ukraine will still have enough of these shells, weapons and military equipment until the fall at most.
— How can an increase in military spending and arms supplies to Ukraine affect the economies of European countries?
Alexey Podberezkin:
— European countries don’t have any extra money now.
Moreover, in the context of the crisis that has gripped Europe against the backdrop of rising energy prices and the flight of industry to the United States, increased spending on defense will be very strongly felt by citizens of European countries.
Already now, when politicians in Germany or France are beginning to worry about the budget deficit, the withdrawal of even €2-3 billion from there in favor of Ukraine is becoming very noticeable.
Evgeny Semibratov:
— Increased spending on defense and on Ukraine in particular will entail a decrease in the standard of living of Europeans and a decrease in the rate of economic development, which the European taxpayer will feel and evaluate extremely negatively in the medium term.
NATO arms supplies to Ukraine
AP
© Efrem Lukatsky
— Considering that European countries, due to their precarious economic situation, are not ready to fully provide Ukraine with weapons on their own, who in this case will take on the role of the main producer of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
Alexander Kamkin:
— By shifting the authority to finance the Kyiv regime to Europe, the United States wants to achieve not only an even greater weakening of the European economy, but also the promotion of its own military-industrial complex, since the majority of weapons for NATO are produced by the Americans.
The United States acts only in ways that benefit it.
The only real beneficiary of the situation in Ukraine is the United States.
Since the most knowledge-intensive technological industries from Europe flow to the States, their American military-industrial complex is loaded for many years ahead.
Evgeny Semibratov:
— The United States understands that in this situation they can easily earn extra money.
By and large, among Western countries, the Americans have a key military-industrial complex, capable of producing the amount of weapons that the Europeans will need after they transfer almost all of their weapons from their stockpiles to the Kyiv regime.
Therefore, the United States has taken a completely advantageous position, which will allow it not only to support the conflict in Ukraine, but also to use its European partners for its own enrichment.
— What weapons can NATO countries transfer to Ukraine this year?
Alexey Podberezkin
:
— First of all, we are talking about ammunition, drones, large-caliber projectiles, as well as long-range precision weapons.
In addition, combat control, communications, reconnaissance and traditional counter-battery fire systems can be transferred.
Alexander Kamkin:
— In the West, they talk a lot about aviation, primarily about the F-16 fighters - although not in the most modern modification.
If we take the air defense system, it is basically Patriot.
At the same time, the United States itself will produce some types of weapons for Kiev and support a circular exchange scheme: when European countries will transfer to Ukraine what they have left (Germany, Poland and Great Britain still have some reserves), and the United States for European money will equip these states with American-style weapons.
— Can we say that Stoltenberg, calling on NATO countries not to allow “Putin to gain the upper hand,” is trying to justify the fact that the burden of increasing defense spending falls on Europe, but the United States will earn?
Evgeny Semibratov:
— This statement by Stoltenberg is just another political rhetoric, which is nothing more than information noise.
These kinds of calls are aimed at growing panic in Europe, which are artificially created so that European public opinion comes to terms with the scenario of allocating huge funds to Ukraine.
Stoltenberg proceeds primarily from this, that is, from the interests of the United States.
Patriot air defense system
globallookpress.com
© Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
Alexey Podberezkin
:
“Stoltenberg repeats the same mantra like a parrot: “We cannot let Putin win, we must defeat Russia.”
However, in the current situation, it is impossible for the West to defeat the Russian Federation, a great nuclear power, so the statements of the NATO Secretary General are in fact absolutely meaningless.
Alexander Kamkin:
— Of course, Stoltenberg’s general narrative is that Russia should not prevail in the situation in Ukraine, but, on the other hand, NATO does not know how to ensure the victory of the Kyiv regime, and therefore shouts anti-Russian slogans out of impotence.