Next Ramstein may be held in February - Umerov
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine's Defense Minister Umerov announced that the next Ramstein will be held in February. The format of the meeting may change due to the change in the US administration, but several European countries are ready to co-chair.
The next meeting in the Ramstein format may take place in February. This was stated by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov after the 25th meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, UNN reports with reference to Radio Liberty.
"We have already indicated that we are holding the next Ramstein in February," Umerov said. "We want the US to stay and strengthen its presence, there are different formats, as you know, we have created NSATU (a format under the auspices of NATO), there are several European countries that want to lead it or co-lead it, because it is done together with Ukraine. So I don't see any problems at the moment, because we have already agreed on the next Ramstein.
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On January 9, the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was held at the Ramstein air base in Germany after a several-month break. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who chaired his last meeting in the Ramstein format, announced an aid package worth about $500 million.
The future of Ramstein is unknown, as US President-elect Donald Trump has not stated whether he will continue to lead the American group after his inauguration on January 20.
Two months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin invited his colleagues from allied countries to Ramstein, the main US air base in Europe in Germany, for the first time. The first meeting took place on April 22, 2022. In this format, the allies discussed and coordinated military assistance to Kyiv.
