Czech PM: 15 countries support initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine outside Europe
This was stated by European leaders after an international meeting in support of Ukraine in Paris the day before, Ukrinform reports citing Le Monde.
"The Czech initiative enjoys strong support from several countries," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said. He assured that fifteen countries are ready to join his plan to purchase ammunition for Ukraine outside Europe.
At a press conference, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris also supports the Czech proposal, and the countries have already started working on it.
"Today, the initiatives we have launched are on the table, and in ten days you will receive a clear answer with a serious agenda," the French president added, clarifying that not everything can be made public.
According to Macron, a number of states have already turned to "European and non-European countries that have ammunition, because we need it in the very short term."
As for the funds for this, "we are mobilizing bilateral and multilateral funding," Macron said.
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, also refused to specify which countries outside Europe could be involved in the ammunition initiative, calling this information secret, but said that his country was allocating "more than 100 million euros" to implement the Czech plan.
At the same time, Macron admitted that the commitment to provide Ukraine with one million rounds of ammunition was rash. "I have to say that we did not have this million rounds of ammunition. It was certainly a rash commitment," he said, adding that Europe has more than tripled its production, but it is by no means enough.
As Ukrinform reported, due to the fact that Europe is not fulfilling its promise to send one million artillery shells to Ukraine by March, the Czech Republic considers it necessary to look for supplies outside the European Union.
In particular, Canada will join the Czech initiative and allocate 30 million Canadian dollars (about USD 23 million) for the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine outside of NATO.
