Britain, France, Spain, Italy, and Canada Reject NATO Proposal for 0.25% GDP Military Aid to Ukraine

The British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Britain, Spain, Italy, Canada, and France have rejected a proposal from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to allocate 0.25% of their gross domestic product (GDP) to provide military support to Ukraine.

According to informed sources cited by the newspaper, Rutte had hoped for approval of this proposal during the NATO summit scheduled in Ankara on July 7 and 8.

The sources indicated that seven countries already provide military aid to Kyiv at this level and have supported the idea. These countries include the Netherlands, Poland, the Nordic countries, and the Baltic states. However, the proposal did not receive the broad support required to advance within the alliance, with one source telling the newspaper that the five major countries showed "little enthusiasm" for the idea.

Estimates suggest that this proposal, which would have increased annual aid to Ukraine to approximately $143 billion, faced reservations from London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, and Ottawa.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his readiness to continue supplying weapons to Kyiv amounting to £3 billion (about $4 billion) annually "in the foreseeable future," though this sum represents only 0.1% of the United Kingdom's GDP.

On May 20, Rutte acknowledged that his idea "would not receive support," without specifying which countries opposed it. He also noted that the assistance provided to Ukraine "is not distributed equally" within the alliance and that a limited group of countries leads the support efforts.