BERLIN, June 30. /TASS/. NATO member states have so far failed to agree on the timing of further assistance to Ukraine due to Italy's position, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quoted diplomatic sources as saying.
According to the paper, the permanent representatives to NATO supported on Tuesday a draft final statement of the upcoming summit of the alliance in Ankara, which allocates 70 billion euros to Ukraine for armaments, support and training of the military in 2026. Initially the text was supposed to mention the continuation of assistance in 2027 "at least at a comparable level," but Italy opposed the prolongation, leaving the point up in the air.
A new meeting of the permanent representatives is scheduled for July 2, at which they will try to agree on the text before the alliance’s July 7-8 summit. According to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, official Berlin is making efforts to ensure that NATO declares its commitment to providing long-term assistance to Kiev.