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EU failure to agree financial and political support for Ukraine this week would send a dangerous signal to the US, where Republicans are opposing more funding for Kyiv, Sweden’s premier has warned.
Ulf Kristersson told the Financial Times ahead of a crucial summit starting in Brussels on Thursday that he was most concerned about what message European allies would send to Washington if they did not agree on €50bn in aid and on starting EU membership negotiations with Ukraine.
“I’m mostly concerned by the fact that if Europe shows signs of division, it’s a sign to the US. And vice versa. If we want the US to stick to supporting Ukraine, Europe has to show the American people that we stick ourselves to supporting Ukraine,” Kristersson said on Wednesday in Oslo after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with other Nordic leaders.
Zelenskyy is facing a crucial week in his bid to drum up support among western allies nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country. On Tuesday, he failed to convince Republicans to back further funding and US President Joe Biden only promised to “do whatever we can” rather than “whatever it takes” to bolster Ukraine’s defence against Russian aggression.
In Oslo, Zelenskyy warned that if Ukraine did not receive a green light from the EU on both funding and accession talks, it would mean that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “vetoed this decision”.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has threatened to block both issues, though he signalled willingness to reach a “financial deal” at the summit, provided the EU unfreezes more funds for Budapest, but not on membership talks.
Zelenskyy said he told Orbán when they met in Argentina this week that “he hasn’t any reasons to block Ukraine’s membership in the EU”, asking him to “tell me one reason, not three, not five. I’m waiting for an answer.”
Kristersson said he was “concerned” about how the summit would unfold. “The next two or three days will either give reason for that concern or show that we are still united,” he said, echoing EU officials who fear the meeting could drag on into the weekend.
The Swedish prime minister added: “The main source of strength we’ve had in the last two years has been that EU countries have been so united, and that the transatlantic link has worked so well. That has been invaluable.”
Kristersson’s fellow Nordic leaders echoed his support for Ukraine.
Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, said now was not the time “to get tired” given the conflict had reached a “crucial point” as winter sets in.
“We need to make sure that Ukraine gets what it needs,” she said. “Putin needs to know he can’t win this war.”
Both Sweden and Denmark will offer new bilateral support for Ukraine on Thursday, days after Finland committed to doubling its orders of ammunition both for itself and Ukraine into the 2030s.
Sweden has its own issue with Orbán, who has followed Turkey in its reluctance to ratify Stockholm’s application to join Nato. Some Nordic diplomats are worried that Orbán could be emboldened by the concessions the EU is offering him over Ukraine and that he could try to extract more from Nato even if Turkey ratifies Sweden’s membership.
Kristersson said: “Viktor Orbán has again and again told me that they will not be the last country to ratify. I have no reason to doubt that. We are waiting for the Turkish parliament to make their decision.”
Sweden’s prime minister has said that the Scandinavian nation faces its worst security situation since the second world war, not just due to the potential of Russian aggression but also due to an escalating wave of gang crime that has meant the country has the worst rate of fatal shootings in Europe.
Kristersson said his centre-right government had been successful in changing many of Sweden’s law to try to combat the gang crime.
“Obviously, everybody realises it takes time . . . I fully understand there is a frustration of these gangs being able to just run around and kill each other and even worse kill other people. But we are very, very firm: we will win that fight.”
