Ukraine's Kuleba Describes Other States' Refusal to Sell Arms as Politically Motivated

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2021) The refusal of a number of key countries to sell weapons to Ukraine for the purpose of strengthening its defense capacity was driven exclusively by� political reasons, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday.

In early June, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert reiterated Berlin's opposition to issuing arms export permits to Ukraine, saying the government will further adhere to the policy. Back then, Kuleba responded by saying that nothing prevents Kiev from buying weapons abroad and slammed Germany's decision as politically motivated.

"A number of important countries do not sell us weapons that can strengthen our defense for purely political reasons. This is the harsh reality. But despite this, we have expanded military and technical cooperation with the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey and other countries," Kuleba said during the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30.

International politics."

The minister expressed confidence that Ukraine would become a NATO member state, noting that it was a matter of "time and price" that Kiev will have to pay.

On July 1, Kuleba said in an interview with the LIGA.net news portal that Ukraine would become a NATO member before joining the European Union but refrained from giving an exact timeline. While there is no consensus on a timetable for Ukraine to join the alliance, NATO members have reached a political consensus that Kiev will eventually join them, he said.

In 2019, Ukraine's parliament adopted constitutional amendments that cemented its intention to work toward becoming an EU and NATO member.