Politico: US considers bringing Ramstein format under NATO control
Kyiv • UNN
The United States is discussing with its allies the possibility of transferring the coordination of the Defense Contact Group on Ukraine, which supplies Kyiv with weapons, to NATO control if Donald Trump wins the next presidential election.
The United States is discussing with its allies the possibility of transferring the coordination of the contact group on Ukraine's defense to NATO in the event of Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election. This was reported by Politico, according to UNN.
Details
According to the newspaper, the United States and other Western countries are considering handing over to NATO the US-led multinational group that coordinates arms shipments to Ukraine. Politico calls this one of several new proposals that could help keep the flow of weapons to Kyiv in the event of a second Donald Trump presidency.
On April 3-4, during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, the participants are expected to discuss a number of options, including the gradual transition of the organization known as Ramstein to NATO control.
According to one official in the know, the transfer of authority could be officially finalized at the NATO summit in Washington in July.
At the same time, US Department of Defense spokesman Charlie Dietz refused to confirm Politico's information and said that the Pentagon had no new information on the format or structure of Ramstein.
We are constantly discussing how we can provide ongoing support to Ukraine and how to organize it in the best possible way
Politico emphasized that handing over the coordination of the Contact Group to NATO would be a significant step toward strengthening support for Ukraine in the foreseeable future "amid Europe's fear of a Trump return to the White House.
Context
The Ramstein Contact Group was established in the spring of 2022, shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, by Pentagon Secretary Lloyd Austin and then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley to coordinate support for Ukraine's defense.