Ukraine expects NATO summit to discuss funding despite trouble securing backing, envoy says

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, May 26 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey said he expects NATO to discuss financial support for Kyiv at its summit in July, suggesting each member contributes a small proportion of its budget, despite the proposal not gaining traction from allies.

Ambassador Nariman Dzhelialov told Reuters on Tuesday he hoped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would attend the July 7-8 summit in Ankara, adding Kyiv also wants members to reaffirm support for Ukraine’s strategic goal of joining the military alliance.

Kyiv depends on international aid to cover its budgetary needs and fund the war with Russia.

Zelenskiy called last June for Western partners to allocate 0.25% of their GDP to helping Kyiv ramp up weapons production and officials said NATO boss Mark Rutte had floated the idea of alliance members – except the U.S. – spending that amount for Ukraine.

However, the idea has faced resistance and Rutte said last week that he did not believe it would be accepted. Diplomats told Reuters that discussions were ongoing about ideas to demonstrate NATO support for Ukraine at the summit.

UKRAINE OFFERING TURKEY DRONE PROPOSAL

Despite the lack of traction, the ambassador suggested Kyiv was pushing for the idea.

“A mechanism here (could be) one in which every NATO member contributes a part of their finances to support strengthening Ukraine’s security capabilities,” he said, acknowledging that not every ally wants to allocate resources as they try to boost their own defences in line with NATO rules.

“But we are not saying ‘give us 100%’, just a very small piece,” he said, without elaborating.

The summit comes amid tensions between Washington and European allies over a variety of issues. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded that NATO partners significantly boost defence expenditure, as the U.S. administration maintains that European allies should ultimately assume primary responsibility for the conventional defence of the continent.

Dzhelialov said Ukraine welcomed Turkey’s efforts to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow, adding that Ukraine was ready for talks with Russia at the leaders’ level.

He said Turkey was the most appropriate venue, since it hosted previous talks and maintains ties with both sides.

He said the defence industry stood out as a key area of cooperation between Ankara and Kyiv and that Zelenskiy had held discussions on this with President Tayyip Erdogan during a visit to Istanbul in April.

He said Ukraine had conveyed a proposal to Turkey regarding the possible sale, joint production, or technology transfer for Ukrainian drones, adding Kyiv was also ready to train operators if needed.

“We have ideas, dreams, technology and they are working, but (Turkey) has the production capacity. This is a bit slow for us because the Russians are always attacking … This is why it is difficult to produce some weapons for us, but (Turkey) has that capacity,” he said.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Additional reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels;Editing by Alison Williams)