a little gratitude
Western countries want to hear words of gratitude from Ukraine for the supply of military equipment. This statement was made by British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace at a public NATO forum held on the sidelines of the alliance’s summit in Vilnius on 11-12 July. Wrote The Guardian newspaper.
“Whether you like it or not, people want to see some gratitude. Sometimes you ask countries to give up their stockpiles of weapons,” said Wallace, adding that he periodically needs to “convince America’s Capitol Hill lawmakers to transport this or that military equipment to Ukraine through tough negotiations.”
According to Wallace, during his visit to Ukraine last year (June 10, 2022), the Kiev authorities provided him with a list of weapons needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the head of the UK Ministry of Defense, this list reminded him to go to the store. “You know, we are not Amazons. That’s what I told them when I drove for 11 hours last year to get a list of required weapons,” he said.
Zelensky’s Critique
Indeed, Wallace commented on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s criticisms of the alliance for the lack of a specific time frame for Kiev’s membership. The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said at a press conference at the summit in Vilnius the previous day that the participating countries agreed to exempt Kiev from the NATO membership action plan. Stoltenberg, “Ukraine will be a NATO member in the future, the country’s entry into the alliance will go from two stages to a single stage.” said. Thus, the process of joining the military bloc for Kiev was shortened.
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the simplified entry to the organization on his Twitter page. The Ukrainian leader did not like that no conditions were specified, not only to join the bloc, but only to receive an invitation. He described this uncertainty as a weakness of the alliance leadership.
Citing sources, The Washington Post wrote that Zelensky’s criticisms infuriated the American delegation at the top of the alliance.
Thanks a lot
According to Wallace, the results of the summit are quite beneficial for Ukraine, despite Zelensky’s claims. He noted that the summit was “an invitation to join NATO after the conflict has subsided”.
In response to Wallace’s remarks, Zelensky said he did not see how his country could otherwise thank its allies for their support. According to him, Kiev is always grateful for military assistance. “We can get up in the morning and thank the minister. During the meeting, the Ukrainian leader said, “Let me write how to thank you, and I will thank you.”
He then asked the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Oleksiy Reznikov, who was in the hall, if he had good relations with Wallace. He said that their relationship was perfect. At Zelensky’s request, Reznikov publicly thanked Wallace for British military assistance. The President of Ukraine also asked him to call the head of the British Ministry of Defense on Wednesday.