France And Several Other Countries Are Not Involved In Trump's Arms Supply Scheme
10- 16.07.2025, 15:45
- 5,850
Paris is betting on the development of the European defense industry.
A number of EU countries will not participate in the scheme announced on July 14 by US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte - purchases of US weapons to transfer them to Ukraine. This is stated by representatives of these countries or reported by the media citing sources.
In particular, according to Politico, France will not participate in the purchases. According to two French officials familiar with the matter, Paris will not join the initiative due to President Emmanuel Macron's desire to achieve the development of a primarily European defense industry.
France's position on the issue differs from Germany's. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Trump's initiative, while Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has already discussed with the U.S. defense secretary the sale of Patriot air defense systems to Germany for transfer to Ukraine. Politico, citing German officials in general, calls the whole scheme proposed by Trump an inherently German idea. Merz, according to the publication, believes that the purchase of American weapons is the only way to quickly provide Ukraine with the necessary armaments. The scheme was also supported by, among others, the Netherlands and the UK, as well as a number of other countries.
Among those who currently have no intention of participating in the US arms purchases for Ukraine, in addition to France, are also Hungary, which does not supply Ukraine with weapons at all, and the Czech Republic, which, on the contrary, actively supports Kiev. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Prague would focus on "other ways" to help Ukraine. According to La Stampa newspaper, Italy will not join the initiative either.
The publication Axios earlier estimated possible arms supplies from the United States - via NATO allies - at 10 billion dollars. It is known that Patriot air defense systems in particular, as well as ammunition and missile weapons, are to be supplied. Donald Trump at the same time rejected the possibility of transferring long-range missiles to Ukraine and said that he does not support strikes against Moscow.
Talking about the "Patriot" systems, Trump said the day before that deliveries of missiles for these systems to Ukraine have already begun. "They're coming from Germany and Germany will then replace them. And in all cases, the United States is going to be fully paid for everything," Trump noted. "NATO is going to pay for everything. In some cases, we're going to be paid directly by the European Union countries. We always get all our money," Trump said in response to questions from reporters.
The head of the Ministry of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany Pistorius previously said about the possible shipment of two Patriot installations to Ukraine via Germany. Trump himself, speaking about the Patriots ready to be sent to Ukraine, mentioned the number of 17. Experts believe that it is not the number of systems (it is highly unlikely, given their cost and quantity), but the number of launchers (one Patriot system has four to eight launchers).
Trump's announcement of a new scheme of assistance to Ukraine, although generally welcomed in the EU, still caused mixed reactions. In particular, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas suggested on Tuesday that Washington should "share the burden" of supplying arms to Ukraine. "If you promise to provide weapons but say someone else will pay for them, then you are not actually providing them," Kallas was quoted by France Presse news agency as saying.
Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims
You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com
