Dutch Foreign Minister: It’s time for other countries to strengthen support for Ukraine

The Netherlands, which has Patriot air defense systems and interceptor missiles for them, has already given Ukraine everything it can from its arsenal. Now it is necessary to encourage other countries to increase their support for Kyiv.

This was stated by Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen in an interview with Radio Liberty in Ankara.

According to him, this issue was discussed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

“Everything we could convey, we have already conveyed. Now, in particular during our negotiations with President Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, we are trying to understand how to together encourage other countries to do more,” he said.

In addition, Berendsen emphasized that the Netherlands has both the ability and the desire to continue supporting Ukraine.

“Everything we invest in Ukraine is an investment in our security, including through the knowledge, experience, and innovations that are currently developing in the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex. But we need to put more pressure on other countries to also join in and make their contribution. And we are doing this together with Ukraine,” Berendsen noted.

At the same time, the official did not name the countries from which Ukraine is expected to provide more active support to strengthen air defense.

“Everyone knows that the Nordic countries, Germany, Poland and others have been doing a lot for many years, and the Netherlands is among them. We need other countries to join in this support. Of course, we are appealing to countries that have stocks to transfer, but at the same time we are considering the possibility of producing interceptor missiles in Europe. We are also counting on our American partners and the PURL program. These systems save lives, so we will continue to call on other countries to invest in PURL,” the Dutch Foreign Minister emphasized.

In addition, he supported President Volodymyr Zelensky’s initiative to develop anti-ballistic capabilities in Europe, given the long queues for American Patriot systems.

“We need to buy and use existing stocks, as well as look to the future and develop our own production, particularly in Europe. We need a comprehensive approach,” the Dutch Foreign Minister summed up.

It was previously reported that the Netherlands can no longer provide Ukraine with direct military assistance in the previous volumes, as it has already exhausted its own weapons stocks . At the same time, the country will continue to support Kyiv in other ways and will call on allies to increase assistance.

In addition, at the NATO summit, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Yetten and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of defense technologies .

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