Many NATO members ready to increase defense contributions to arm Ukraine - Austin

NATO Allies are gradually agreeing that the threshold for defense contributions set by NATO at 2% of GDP should only be a “floor,” which is important, including for the purchase of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine.

That’s according to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who spoke at the NATO HQ in Brussels on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“As we continue to discuss this, I think there is broad agreement that the 2% of GDP investment should be a floor and not a ceiling. And there are many countries that are anxious to exceed the 2%," the US Defense Minister noted.

Besides, according to the defense secretary, many countries already are “on the glide path” to up spending in a reasonable amount of time.

“So, we will continue to encourage our allies to meet that goal because it's really, really important. We have to continue to invest in weapons and ammunition and replace the weapons and munitions that we've provided to Ukraine in many cases," Austin emphasized.

To this end, Austin believes, additional investment will be needed. In addition, the head of the Pentagon emphasized the need to standardize munitions among NATO countries, as this lesson was learned over the recent months of joint efforts to repel Russian aggression.

"And so our armaments directors are working together to make sure that we were possible," Lloyd Austin said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Thursday, after the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the head of the Pentagon announced billion-dollar contributions by the nations that are members of the Ramstein format to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses.

Photo: CNN