The insistence with which Volodymyr Zelensky decided to put pressure on NATO on the first day of vertex of Vilnius to try to get, failing, an acceleration in the process accession of Ukraine to the Alliance has not only caused tension between him and the member states. Diversity of opinion also emerged within one of the governments which, since the beginning of the conflict, has shown itself more than all, together with United Statesclose to the cause of Kievi.e. the British one.
To start the question and answer all internal a London was the Minister of Defense, Ben Wallacewho on the sidelines of the NATO summit decided to send a decisive message to Zelensky that sounded like a warning: the people of the allied countries “would like to see gratitude” on the part of Kiev, declared the former career soldier, while “giving away its stocks of weapons” to Kiev. These countries, he added, cannot be considered as a sort of “Amazon” which to address orders of war material on request.
While confirming the well-known positions of the British executive, i.e. unlimited support for the cause of Kiev, the minister wanted to motivate his exit: “It is a noble war and we see that you are fighting it not only for yourselves, but also for our freedom”, he acknowledged addressing the Ukrainian leaders. But he also added that the tones must be calibrated for example “to convince i American lawmakers” or “to persuade dubious politicians from other countries that it is worthwhile” to continue to support Ukraine. Wallace then defined as “a victory” for Kiev the fact that the summit was affirmed that “Ukraine belongs to NATO” in perspective and therefore that accession “it is a destiny that will come true”.
Words for which the premier was asked to account Rishi Sunak during the press conference on the sidelines of the summit. And it was at this point that the internal rift emerged: “President Zelensky expressed his gratitude on various occasions to me and the British people and also to other allies – he said – He did it in a very moving way in Parliament when he was in the United Kingdom earlier this year. He continues to be grateful for our support and leadership and for the welcome we have extended to many Ukrainian families. I think everyone can see that’s how he feels.”
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