NATO countries pledged on Wednesday, December 3, to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars in additional US arms for Ukraine, signalling continued support even as US-led peace talks with Moscow remain ongoing. Foreign ministers from the 32-nation alliance met in Brussels to discuss Washington’s push to end the conflict.
The meeting followed a five-hour session in Moscow, where US envoys reportedly failed to secure a major breakthrough with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
NATO chief Mark Rutte stressed the importance of keeping Ukraine strong during negotiations. “The peace talks are ongoing, that’s good, but at the same time, we have to make sure that whilst they take place — and we are not sure when they will end — that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going,” he said.
As part of the commitment, Germany, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada announced a combined pledge of roughly one billion dollars to buy American weapons for Ukraine. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide reaffirmed the alliance’s resolve, stating, “Ukraine needs to stay strong and we, the allies in the largest and most successful military alliance in history, need to stay firm, and we need to stay committed.”
Ministers also urged Putin to take peace talks seriously and end the violence. British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said, “He should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.”
The allies pushed back against recent Russian statements suggesting readiness for war with Europe. Finland’s Elina Valtonen dismissed the remarks as intimidation, adding, “It’s the rhetoric that Russia is making use of in order to intimidate us, and we shouldn’t take such talks too seriously. We have very strong capabilities as NATO, as Europe, and we are ramping up by the day.”
The US delegation was led by a deputy after top diplomat Marco Rubio skipped the meeting, a move that risked reinforcing perceptions that Europe is being sidelined in President Donald Trump’s diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.
