Former NATO envoy to Ukraine defines three priorities for The Hague summit

This was stated by the former head of the NATO Representation to Ukraine, Oleksandr Vinnikov, on air of the Espreso TV channel.

"The NATO summit in The Hague is taking place at a historic moment, as we have never before seen greater threats to the Alliance. It is a manifestation of allies' unity, which focuses on three priorities. The first is increasing defense investments and spending. Over the years, 2% of GDP was allocated to defense, but now that is no longer enough. Therefore, to protect 1 billion citizens, we must spend significantly more on defense if we want to preserve our security over the next 3, 7, or more years. We have agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP," Vinnikov noted.

According to him, the second priority, which logically follows from the first, is strengthening the industrial defense base across the Alliance. Accordingly, the defense industries on both sides of the Atlantic must increase production capacity.

"And the third priority, which is the top one at the summit, is increased support for Ukraine. We understand that the war will continue and will not end on its own. Therefore, Ukraine must have everything it needs to deter the Russian aggressor. Ukraine must hold stronger positions during future negotiations. We hope that this unjust war ends as soon as possible. We know that after this, a just and lasting peace must come. These three priorities are on the summit’s agenda because our goal is to make the Alliance even stronger," Vinnikov summarized.

• On June 24, the NATO summit began in The Hague, bringing together leaders of the 32 NATO member states and partners. The program for the first day of the summit includes a plenary session of the NATO Defense Industry Forum, a meeting between the NATO Secretary General, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a formal dinner hosted by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, and working dinners of the Ukraine-NATO Council (at the level of foreign ministers) and the North Atlantic Council (at the level of defense ministers) chaired by Mark Rutte and the Dutch defense minister respectively.