Estonia’s foreign minister said his country plans to increase its state defense spending to 3% of GDP
European countries will have to double their defense spending because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Estonia’s foreign minister said today, noting that his country plans to increase its state defense spending to 3 percent of GDP.
Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu made the comments in an interview with Reuters during a trip to Kyiv with foreign ministers of six other countries.
The visit was meant to show support for Kyiv as the Ukrainian capital faces blackouts following a spate of Russian drone and missile attacks.
“We would like to see European countries double their defense spending in the time of the war in Ukraine and after the war, and we will spend 3% of our GDP on national defense,” he said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last week that the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, of which Estonia is a member, may decide to target higher defense spending than the current target of 2 percent of GDP.
Many NATO allies have already increased their military spending since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO but has applied to join the alliance, has increasingly called for support from its Western allies since Russia stepped up its missile attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Reinsalu stressed that the European Union of 27, of which Estonia is a member, should also increase the level of funding intended for military support in Ukraine.
“The European Union as a whole has sent military aid to Ukraine worth about 0.2% of its GDP and I have pledged that if we could get to 1% it would make a big difference on the ground in changing the course of the war,” he said. .
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Smyhal tweeted that today’s visit by Reynsalz and six other ministers included discussions on strengthening EU sanctions, rebuilding Ukrainian energy infrastructure, financial support and Ukraine’s “Euro-Atlantic ambitions”.
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