NATO chief makes pitch to U.S. conservatives on more aid for Ukraine

A version of this story appeared in the daily Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive Threat Status delivered directly to your inbox each weekday.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made the rounds with Pentagon officials and congressional leaders during a quick Washington visit this week to rally support for a new aid package for Ukraine in its nearly two-year war to repel Russian invaders. But on Wednesday, the NATO chief may have faced his most skeptical audience at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

With conservative lawmakers increasingly skeptical of new military and financial support for Kyiv, the NATO leader tried to make the case that supporting Ukraine is in America’s security and economic interest.

Mr. Stoltenberg acknowledged that China may be the most serious long-term challenge for the U.S. but Russia, he argued, is the most immediate threat to Western values and interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “has brought war back to Europe on a scale not seen since the Second World War and is developing new strategic weapons to threaten the United States and its allies,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “His war is not just about controlling Ukraine. It is about reestablishing Russia’s sphere of influence and shaping an alternative world order.”

Keeping the once solid united front against the Kremlin has proven challenging as the war has dragged on. Fighting has stalemated along a broad front in eastern Ukraine.

Even while Mr. Stoltenberg was in town, the news was breaking that Mr. Putin would be making his first visit to a NATO capital since the war began in early 2022 when he visits Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Feb. 12.

Turkey, which shares a maritime border with both Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, has sought to maintain open lines to both Moscow and Kyiv. It has defended Ukraine’s territorial integrity but has not joined many of the U.S. and Western sanctions targeting Russia for its invasion.

Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are developing close ties as they subvert sanctions in an attempt to weaken the U.S. dollar-based international system. Mr. Stoltenberg said NATO must ensure a strategy to prevent wars and preserve the peace. 

“Any sign of wavering or weakness on our part will invite challenges from those who wish us harm,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.

President Biden has tried to rally an international coalition to fight back the Russian forces, but a $64 billion White House funding request has stalled in Congress and Heritage Foundation Heritage President Kevin D. Roberts said there had to be a higher standard for future assistance.

“We will not support further funding for Ukraine unless it is military-only, matched sufficiently by European nations, is transparent and accountable, and follows a clearly articulated strategy for victory,” Mr. Roberts said. 

The NATO chief pushed back on the argument that the U.S. is footing the entire bill in Ukraine. The U.S. has provided about $75 million to help Kyiv, but its allies — including fellow NATO members — have given more than $100 billion in total, officials said.

“Supporting Ukraine is not charity. It is an investment in our own security,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. 

He also appealed to the economic self-interest of the conservative Heritage audience, noting the U.S. defense industrial base has benefited from the war. Over the last two years, NATO allies purchased $120 billion worth of weapons, including hundreds of M1 Abrams tanks to Poland and will roll out at least 600 F-35 aircraft for other European allies by 2030, he said.

“What you produce keeps people safe [and] what allies buy keeps American businesses strong,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “So NATO is a good deal for the United States.”