Ben Wallace thinks Ukraine needs to be careful. The West has used a whole load of political energy this week to try and bring Ukraine closer to Nato, and its government’s response has been a bit unthankful. ‘There is a slight word of caution here,’ Wallace told a gaggle of reporters this morning, on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Vilnius, ‘which is that whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude.’
His comments come after Volodymyr Zelensky fumed on Tuesday that it was ‘absurd’ of Nato to not set a timeframe for when his country would become a member of the alliance. ‘Uncertainty is weakness’, he wrote on Twitter. Nato was about to release a communique saying it would allow Ukraine to join ‘when allies agree and conditions are met’. Zelensky had wanted an immediate invitation for Ukraine to become a member of the alliance, and had wanted to know exactly when that invitation could be redeemed.
But Wallace apparently didn’t want thanks for his own efforts this week, despite revealing that he once had to tell the Ukrainians that he was ‘not Amazon’ after they requested an exhaustive list of military equipment. The Defence Secretary instead appeared worried that Zelensky’s comments would upset the Americans. ‘Sometimes you’ve got to persuade lawmakers on the Hill in America,’ he continued to reporters today. ‘You’ve got to persuade doubting politicians in other countries that it’s worth it, and it’s worthwhile, and that they’re getting something for it.’
Wallace apparently didn’t want thanks for his own efforts this week, despite revealing that he once had to tell the Ukrainians that he was ‘not Amazon’
Throughout the last year, noisy and influential American politicians have questioned whether funding a war in Europe is a good idea. Well-known senators like Josh Hawley and J. D. Vance have, along with members of Congress like Matt Gaetz, seethed about both the expense and the political risk of arming the Ukrainians. (Don’t forget that Donald Trump says he would end the war in 24 hours.)
But at every Ukrainian appeal, regardless of the outcry, the Biden administration’s reply has been to spend more money, and to send more military gear. Ukraine needs to win over its doubters, and to thank its backers, the Defence Secretary seemed to be saying in Vilnius. At the same time as Wallace was making his comments, Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, was telling a crowd that the ‘American people deserve a degree of gratitude’ for backing Ukraine.
Now, at the summit’s close, it looks like the row is calming. Rishi Sunak said this afternoon that he knows Zelensky is grateful, and Zelensky just tweeted that Ukraine ‘tremendously’ appreciates America’s support. Can they hear that on the Hill?
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