NATO Will Increase Aid For Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gave a press statement. (Twitter/@SecGenNATO)

JAKARTA - Foreign Ministers of state members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held a meeting in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday to accelerate defense investment.

This comes amid concerns that United States mediated peace negotiations are experiencing a stalemate, while tensions are rising among European allies over how to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.

In a statement before the closed meeting, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte issued a statement saying European and Canadian countries "are really increasing defense investment, and that's good, but we shouldn't be complacent we all need to work hard and fast," as quoted by The National (3/12).

The meeting lasted hours after high-risk US-Russia negotiations in Moscow did not appear to have resulted in many breakthroughs.

Europe has largely been ruled out in recent US mediation efforts related to Ukraine, including negotiations held in Florida on Sunday between delegates from Kyiv and Rubio.

US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, also attended the negotiations before leaving for Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It is known that the initial plan of 28 points submitted to President Putin, who is widely described as benefiting Russia, has been changed under pressure from Europe and Ukraine.

"So far we haven't found any compromise, but some American solutions can be discussed," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, after a meeting at the Kremlin.

In Brussels, British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said, although President Trump "encouraging a just and lasting peace", Russia shows no sign of being meaningfully involved in discussions and actually increasing its attacks on Ukraine, including attacks on its energy infrastructure.

Cooper himself announced an additional 10 million to support the improvement of Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Norway, Germany, and Poland also pledged a joint donation of USD 500 million for Ukraine to purchase US military equipment.

"Europe's security is at stake. Europe's fate is at stake," said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

On Tuesday, President Putin said Russia was ready to fight if Europe wanted war. In response, Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said the "terrible comments" were a "serious warning" to Europe to increase its defense budget.