Rutte, Hegseth announce expansion of PURL initiative
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US Department of War chief Pete Hegseth have said expect more alliance members to join the PURL initiative, which involves purchasing American weapons for Ukraine at the expense of allies.
They said this on Wednesday in Brussels at a joint press conference before the start of a meeting of NATO defense ministers.
"I want to thank President Trump and you personally, and of course the entire American leadership team, for the fact that when it comes to Ukraine, you have decided to make sure again that they have what they need from the United States, paid for by allies, and this program is now working. Two billion has already been allocated, and today I expect many new announcements from countries that will participate. So overall we are making great progress," Rutte said.
According to the NATO Secretary General, the allies are doing "everything together to keep Ukraine strong."
In turn, Hegseth emphasized that the PURL initiative is aimed at "bringing peace to this conflict." "And if we have learned anything under President Trump, it is the active application of peace through strength. You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or point your finger: you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that are respected by your adversaries. And I think that is what NATO is doing, I think that is what the PURL initiative is, so we expect today that more countries will sacrifice even more, that they will buy even more to provide Ukraine with a peaceful end to this conflict," Hegseth said.
