Joint [statement] crisis ahead of NATO summit in Ankara
NATO allies could not reach an agreement on a draft joint statement before the summit to be held in Ankara on July 7-8. According to Bloomberg's sources, Poland's insistence on the military pipeline to Eastern Europe and Italy's reservations about the calendar of financial aid to Ukraine brought diplomatic negotiations to the sting point of blockage.
NATO member countries could not reach an agreement on the joint final declaration before the leaders' summit to be held in Ankara on July 7-8.
According to the information conveyed to Bloomberg by the sources familiar with the subject, the negotiations between the alliance diplomats in recent days have reached a dead end due to deep differences of opinion.
The basis of disagreements are Poland's request for the expansion of the military pipeline network and Italy's objection to the calendar of long-term financial commitments to Ukraine.
During the talks, Poland demanded that the NATO pipeline network, which was built to connect military facilities in Western Europe during the Cold War, be expanded to the east and that this project be funded from the alliance budget.
The Warsaw administration expected this issue, supported by other Eastern European countries, to be decided at the summit in The Hague last year, but the process could not be finalized.
Dual-purpose fuel line insistence on the east flank
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a statement at the end of June that military fuel pipelines would be the priority for Warsaw at the summit in Ankara.
Kosiniak-Kamysz used the following statements on the subject:
“I received a very strong authority from my counterparts in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Baltic countries, whom I met a few days ago, to encourage the construction of pipelines. The project in question includes pipelines that will start from West Germany and extend to Poland via East Germany, the Czech Republic in the south, and Lithuania and other Baltic countries in the north.
The Polish Minister of Defense explained the strategic importance of this infrastructure with the following words:
“We are talking about pipelines here that will carry the fuel that will be needed in case of a military threat. This structure will have a dual-purpose quality. It will be used entirely for the needs of the army in the risk of war or military conflict, and will provide an extremely favorable opportunity to supply fuel to our country in peacetime.
A comment from Italy to the calendar of Ukrainian aid
Another sensitive node of the negotiations is Italy's attitude. The sources said that the Roman administration is trying to stretch the calendar of the commitments to the financial aid to Ukraine, which are planned to be given to Ukraine by the end of 2027.
Italy argues that determining concrete and strict periods will weaken the possibility of reaching a solution through negotiations between the parties.
According to the draft text, the allies are committed to providing a total of 70 billion euros in 2026 and 2027 to Kiev within the framework of the European Union's loan program.
Italy, on the other hand, demands that references for next year be removed from the aid plan on the grounds that diplomatic contacts with Moscow may be intensified.
However, the sources emphasized that the aid to Ukraine itself was not discussed in any way, only the calendar was emphasized.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had previously stated in a statement that European leaders should develop a common stance and start negotiations with Russia.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stated that Europeans understand the need for dialogue with Russia, but they have "just started to mature" in this regard.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed that he was open to negotiations with Europe.