West Wants All NATO Members to Assist Kiev as Long as It Keeps Fighting Russia: Lavrov
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Western countries are trying to compel all NATO member states to sign up for providing obligatory aid to Ukraine just so long as Kiev keeps up its fight against Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"Now they want to turn voluntary military aid to Ukraine into mandatory military aid under NATO auspices, to force all NATO members to sign up for the obligatory provision of funds and weapons to the Kiev regime through heavy-handed disciplinary measures, just so that it can continue to fight Russia," the top diplomat said at a meeting with foreign ambassadors on a potential settlement in Ukraine, TASS reported.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, foreign countries and international organizations have provided Kiev with assistance totaling more than $150.8 bln. Almost one-third - $48.5 bln - went to Ukrainian military needs, according to calculations based on official statements by the authorities of donor countries and media data.
Thus, the total amount of Western aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the war has exceeded its budget for 2022 ($55.5 bln) by 2.7 times. And military aid to Kiev alone is already equal to 94.9% of Russia's defense spending last year ($51.1 bln).
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that today the military potential and capabilities of almost all major NATO countries are being "actively used against Russia."
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu emphasized that Moscow was fighting not so much with the Ukrainian military as with the "collective West."
