PELLEGRINI: SEVERAL NATO ALLIES REJECTED FINANCING UKRAINE ARMAMENTS

BRATISLAVA, JULY 12 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ – Several NATO member states, including Slovakia, have refused to finance arms supplies to Ukraine, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said.

He rejected claims that Slovakia had been isolated at the NATO summit in its position that it would neither send weapons to Ukraine nor financially participate in a new round of arms funding.

Pellegrini said at the news conference that the prime ministers of Hungary and the Czech Republic had also made it clear that their countries would not provide military or financial assistance to Ukraine.

"There were also other prime ministers who refused to participate in allocating those EUR 70 billion from the NATO budget," Pellegrini added.

The declaration adopted at the NATO summit in Ankara states that Allies have pledged EUR 70 billion this year for military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine and reaffirmed their intention, through sovereign national commitments, to maintain at least the same level of support next year.