NATO chief wants more defence deals

NATO allies need to sign more contracts with defence companies to boost production with ammunition stocks running dry, the alliance’s chief, Jens Stoltenberg, told Bloomberg in an interview.

He urged countries to spend at least 2 per cent of GDP as soon as possible. The NATO secretary general made the comments following a two-day meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in Oslo, where they discussed Ukraine’s bid to join the bloc.

While allies remain committed to eventually bringing Ukraine into the fold, there’s less agreement on how quickly things need to move. France and Baltic nations are pushing to offer Ukraine a concrete road map by July when leaders gather in Vilnius, while countries such as Germany are more cautious on the issue.

EU nations are slowly moving toward an agreement on an 11th sanctions package against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, with a previous plan to ban ships transporting prohibited goods from entering the bloc’s ports likely to be partly dropped.   

France’s Emmanuel Macron offered his strongest support yet for Ukraine’s bid to join NATO — but he tempered his backing by saying full membership isn’t possible at the moment. Speaking at a summit in Moldova, the French leader said Europe needs to provide Ukraine with immediate security guarantees, short of what “goes with full-fledged membership to NATO, which isn’t accessible today.”