Rubio clarifies Trump's NATO weapons proposal for Ukraine
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump is urging NATO allies to supply Ukraine with necessary weapons from their own stockpiles and later purchase replacements from the United States, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Commenting on Trump's statement, Rubio noted that this is not about a new scheme for arms supplies to Ukraine, but rather one of the existing military supply options. It involves European countries purchasing weapons from the United States and then transferring them to Ukraine.
"At the end of the day, some of the systems that Ukraine requires are systems that Europe doesn't make. They would have to purchase them from the United States. In addition to that, I would point to the fact that a number of the defensive weapons that Ukraine seeks are in – our Allies in NATO have them," added the US Secretary of State.
According to him, the American side is urging its allies to transfer the necessary weapons to Ukraine from their own stockpiles, and then purchase replacements from the US.
In response to a question about whether this concerns existing systems or new ones, Rubio said it could be both.
"I mean, but at the end of the day, I mean, it's a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a factory and get it there. So there are a couple different ways to approach it, but the key is that there are existing capacities within existing US systems within Europe right now that can be transferred to Ukraine, and then the Europeans could purchase the replacements from the United States. That's one aspect of what I think the President was referring to yesterday," Rubio explained.
Trump's statement
US President Donald Trump announced a new plan to support Ukraine. It envisions the transfer of American weapons, but not for free as under the previous administration of Joe Biden.
The plan involves the US selling weapons to NATO allies, who would then transfer them to Ukraine.
According to Trump, the weapons will first be delivered to NATO countries, and then they will have the right to independently decide whom and what to transfer.
At the same time, NATO will pay for these deliveries, which allows Washington to formally avoid direct involvement in the transfer of arms to Ukraine.
Experts believe this approach helps the US avoid direct responsibility while maintaining military support for the Ukrainian army.
