LONDON, February 18. /TASS/. European countries have been assigned a place "at the kids’ table" in negotiations over Ukraine while the "adult" US and Russia are engaged in the conflict settlement, Armin Papperger, CEO of Germany’s defense corporation Rheinmetall, said.
"If parents have dinner, the kids have to sit at another table. The US is negotiating with Russia and no European is at the table — it has become very clear that the Europeans are the kids," he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
According to Papperger, this situation is due to the fact that the Europeans have not invested enough in defense. "It was very convenient for the Europeans over the last 30 years to say, OK, spend 1% [of GDP on defense], it’s fine," he said.
The Rheinmetall CEO pointed out that even if peace comes to Ukraine, European countries should continue to increase defense spending.
According to the Financial Times, Rheinmetall has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of growing global instability. The manufacturer's CEO expects the group's annual sales to reach 30-40 billion euros in the next five years, up from 5.7 billion euros in 2021.
Russian and US delegations are holding talks in Riyadh on February 18 to ddiscuss the restoration of the full range of bilateral relations, as well as preparations for the discussion of the Ukrainian settlement and the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump. From the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov are at the negotiating table. The US is represented by Trump's national security advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US leader's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Representatives of Saudi Arabia are also present at the talks.