Britain and France Block New NATO Plan for Ukraine

Britain and France are among the countries that have blocked a proposal by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for member states to allocate at least 0.25% of gross domestic product (GDP) to military aid to Ukraine, the Telegraph has reported. Spain, Italy and Canada also reportedly opposed the plan.

Rutte had sought to advance the proposal at the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara as a symbol of united, long-term support for Kyiv. He has since acknowledged that it will not achieve the consensus required among all member states.

According to NATO sources, at least seven states that already spend more than the proposed 0.25% of GDP on military aid to Ukraine supported the initiative, notably Poland, the Netherlands and the Baltic and Nordic countries.

The British government is also facing criticism after easing some sanctions on Russian oil products in recent days. Although Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged at least £3bn a year to Ukraine, this amounts to only around 0.1% of British GDP.

France, Italy, Spain and Canada have drawn the most criticism, with experts saying those countries lag behind several smaller allies in the volume of aid provided to Kyiv. Rutte noted that NATO support for Ukraine is not "evenly distributed" and that several countries are not contributing enough.

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