Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, declared the alliance “ready and willing to do what it takes” to protect its members’ people, in response to previous comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country was prepared for war with Europe.
He was speaking to a meeting of allied foreign ministers convened to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
“Nato,” he added, “is a defensive alliance. We will remain a defensive alliance, but make no mistake, we are ready and willing to do what it takes to protect our 1 billion people and secure our territory.”
In related developments, the European Commission indicated it plans a “reparations loan” to Ukraine, backed by frozen Russian assets in its jurisdiction. An alternative under consideration is to raise an EU loan based on common borrowing.
The objective, according to European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, would be to ensure that “Ukraine has the means to defend [itself] and take forward peace negotiations from a position of strength.”
The proposal aims to raise some €90bn. This would cover around two thirds of Ukraine’s funding requirements for the coming two years. The rest would come from other “international partners”.
[Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nato/34048412234]