- Written by Jennifer McKiernan
- BBC political reporter
Prime Minister David Cameron has ruled out the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine to avoid “targeting” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“If our allies don’t step up, we will lose the war,” the foreign minister admitted on the BBC’s “Ukrainecast” podcast.
However, when asked whether Western countries should send troops to Ukraine, Prime Minister David Cameron replied: “No.”
He added that NATO must be in “the best possible shape” by the US election.
Prime Minister Cameron was speaking at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit of 32 foreign ministers held over two days in Brussels.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has pledged 100 billion euros (about 8.6 trillion yen) to Ukraine over five years, with the aim of completing the package by the next summit in Washington in July. An aid plan was floated.
One diplomat suggested, Reuters reported, that the package “could provide some protection in case of Trump. But it’s impossible to make something that will withstand Trump.”
Prime Minister David Cameron is due to visit the United States next week for the second time since becoming foreign secretary, and said he will ask parliament for further financial support that “could change the narrative” in Ukraine.
He said NATO must work together no matter who wins this year’s U.S. presidential election, so now is the time to put it in “the best shape possible by November,” alluding to complaints from candidate Trump. Ta.
“If we can get that money out of the U.S. Congress, if we can get Ukraine the weapons it needs, and President Putin can’t outwit us, and Ukraine will fight back and take it back,” he told UkraineCast. If I can show that I have intentions,” he said. Even more of that territory.
“If we can do all these things, then whoever comes in in November, when we look at the situation in Ukraine… and we see more and more NATO members spending 2% of their GDP on defense, we think this is a success. I can say, ‘I want to invest in this success.
“So we turn Ukraine into this situation and turn NATO into the strongest alliance with the best chance of success. And we will inherit a better situation if we win in November 2024.”
Britain is a founding member of NATO, which was formed 75 years ago by countries including the United States, Canada and France to stop expansion by the Soviet Union, a group of communist states that includes Russia.
Some NATO countries are sending weapons to Ukraine, while Britain, the United States, Germany and Turkey are providing anti-tank weapons, missile defense systems, artillery, tanks and military drones.
The United States and Britain also supply long-range missiles.
However, no NATO member state has sent troops to Ukraine or used its air force to impose a no-fly zone over the country. This is because such actions could lead to a direct conflict with Russia.
Asked about concerns that the war could still spill over to Ukraine’s borders, particularly Poland and the Baltic states, Prime Minister Cameron said NATO had adopted the principle that “an attack on one is an attack on all”. He assured that he would intervene in such situations based on his Article 5 pledge. .
But he ruled out Western countries being “on the ground” in Ukraine, saying: “We do not want to give President Putin such a target.”
The former prime minister said the UK would use “the NATO mechanism” to provide support to Ukraine, but distinguished that NATO’s mission was “for Ukraine”, not “in” it.
“I don’t think it’s an escalation to say we’re going to help this independent, sovereign nation fight an aggressor, and we’re going to do everything we can to help that,” he added.
Britain has given Ukraine more than £7 billion and trained more than 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the program, which began during Mr Cameron’s time as prime minister.
But the foreign minister urged other countries supporting Ukraine to take steps, perhaps by donating weapons.
“Some weapons have an expiration date,” he says. “It’s much better to give it to Ukraine and let them use it than to dispose of it at home, which actually costs money.”
The foreign minister said he would not answer any questions about Israel or Gaza.
