Donald Trump is not abandoning Ukraine but will ask NATO members to increase military spending quite a bit. In a month, the new president of the United States will take office in the White House with inevitable effects on the international context. Ukraine awaits the impulse from Washington to start a negotiation phase that will put an end to the war with Russia by laying the foundations for a lasting peace. Vladimir Putin is also waiting to meet the new American president, destined to become a point of reference.
Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, is expected in Kiev, as explained by the spokesman of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Georgy Tykhy. The date of the visit has been agreed but is not disclosed
Even NATO, led by Secretary Mark Rutte, will be called upon to confront Trump's line in the coming weeks. Already in his first term, between 2016 and 2026, the US president had urged allies to increase defense spending. Currently, the threshold is 2% of GDP: for Trump, this is far too little.
The transition team has already communicated this to European officials, who have also been assured that the president-elect intends to continue providing military aid to Ukraine, as the Financial Times writes, citing sources informed of the discussions that took place this month between Trump's foreign policy advisors and senior European officials.
Trump's pallets
According to what has been revealed, therefore, Trump intends to more than double the current target of 2% – so far achieved by 23 of the 32 members – although, according to one of the FT's sources, he could accept 3.5%. Not only that: the tycoon intends to explicitly link the increase in military spending to more advantageous trade agreements with the USA. “It's clear that we're talking about 3% or more ahead of the Hague summit,” another European official told the newspaper.
According to sources cited by the Financial Times, including senior British national security officials who have traveled to Washington in recent weeks for meetings with the president-elect's team, Trump remains convinced that Ukraine should not be granted entry. in NATO. And he wants an immediate end to the conflictbut believes that supplying weapons to Kiev after a ceasefire would ensure a “peace through strength” solution.
