NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wants European countries to more evenly distribute the costs of US weapons purchases for Ukraine under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism, as currently only six or seven allies are making the main contribution.
Rutte said before a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Sweden that only six or seven European countries are doing most of the purchasing of US weapons for Ukraine under PURL.
"I'm seeing, for example, the United States, the flow of US crucial gear into Ukraine continues. This includes, of course, vital anti-ballistic missile, anti-missile support, including for the Patriot systems, paid for by European allies, the famous PURL programme. It is continuing. The Europeans are paying for it," he said.
Rutte stressed that he wants to ensure that "the burden is more evenly spread" among all European countries.
"... [I would like to ensure] that there is more burden sharing here, because at the moment, it is only six or seven allies who are doing the heavy lifting," the NATO secretary general added.
According to Rutte, "the good news" is that the efforts of those six or seven countries are "enough to make sure that Ukraine keeps having access to this crucial US equipment".
Support for Ukraine will be one of the topics discussed at the NATO ministers' meeting in Sweden, with Norway expected to call for increased contributions to Ukraine's defence capabilities.
A meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the foreign minister level is also expected on the sidelines of the event in the format of an informal dinner attended by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
