NATO Secretary General says Europe to pay for new US arms supplies to Ukraine

Europe will have to pay for the weapons supplied by the USA to Ukraine. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 23.

"If this new administration of [US President Donald] Trump is ready to continue to supply Ukraine from its defense industrial base, the bill will be paid by the Europeans, I am absolutely convinced of that, we have to be ready for that," Reuters quotes him as saying.

On the same day, it was reported that the US may force Europe to pay for arms supplies to Ukraine. There are also people in Trump's team who are in favor of continuing military support for Kiev, provided it helps "relieve American taxpayers of the burden."

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The day before, Trump said that Washington was studying the issue of further arms deliveries to Kiev. He also noted that his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin would take place "very soon."

At the same time, the US leader threatened to raise taxes and impose new sanctions on Russian exports to the US if the conflict in Ukraine is not resolved soon. He called the "deal" a favor he was doing for Russian Federation. Dmitry Polyansky, Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said Moscow first needs to find out what constitutes a "deal" in Trump's understanding.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.