NEW YORK, August 5. /TASS/. The sale of US weapons to Ukraine via European countries will relieve American taxpayers of the financial burden, US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker said.

"[US] President [Donald] Trump announced this mechanism where our NATO allies would buy American armaments and ammunition and then those allies would provide that to Ukraine," the diplomat said during a Newsmax TV broadcast. "Obviously, this takes the American taxpayer out of the equation. No longer are American taxpayers bearing the burden of the war in Ukraine," he explained.

Whitaker pointed out that the new mechanism does not weaken US positions but strengthens them. Washington sells weapons produced by US workers, thus ensuring employment in the country and supporting the national defense industry. According to the diplomat, the US has successfully shifted responsibility for Europe’s security onto the continent's countries.

On July 14, President Donald Trump announced at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that the two had agreed to the delivery of US weapons to Ukraine at the expense of European countries. The alliance will coordinate the deliveries, which will include weapons such as Patriot systems. The US president said that the volume of military aid that will be supplied to Ukraine through NATO will amount to billions of dollars.