NATO allies are demanding that outgoing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg this week clarify his plan to provide 100 billion euros to support Ukraine, writes "Politico".
This is part of the Alliance Secretary General's plan to "protect against Trump" - financial support for Kiev in the event of re-election of the former US president, who has his own view of the conflict in Ukraine and the methods of its resolution.
In private conversations, some of Ukraine's close Eastern European allies have grown more reserved in recent weeks about Stoltenberg's plan. NATO leaders meet in Washington in July, but it is still unclear where such a huge sum will come from.
"The plan is a bit confusing," said an official from Eastern Europe, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to him, members of the Alliance expect more clarity from Stoltenberg during the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague on Thursday and Friday.
It is not clear whether Germany and France will support this plan.
Paris prefers defense spending to remain within the EU, not NATO, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz is reluctant to spend more than what Berlin has already committed to since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Other officials interviewed by "Politico" acknowledge that the €100 billion figure will eventually be revised and predict that if it is, allies will have to find other ways to show Kiev that their support remains strong. It is expected that there will be no binding decisions at the meeting in Prague at the end of the week, as the meeting is informal.
The head of NATO fears that in the absence of firm, written commitments, funding for Ukraine could gradually dry up.
Initially, the NATO Secretary General's plan assumed that European NATO members would commit to providing 100 billion euros to help Ukraine over five years.