“We even exceeded our expectations”: The Hague’s Yegor Chernev on the NATO Summit, Ukraine’s role and Trump’s reaction
24 June 21:04
EXCLUSIVE
Against the backdrop of the escalating situation in the Middle East and new Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities, one of the most anticipated NATO summits is taking place in The Hague. And although the Hague summit was billed as “more modest ” and “not to irritate Trump,” Ukraine is once again at the center of geopolitical discussion. The focus is also on Europe’s defense capabilities, the Alliance’s security commitments, and the future of support for Ukraine.
[comersant] spoke to Yegor Chernev, MP, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense, Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the NATO PA, who is attending the summit in The Hague. Where does Ukraine stand this year, especially as we await the meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy? And what did the US president really mean when he said: “I need help with Putin” – all of this is discussed in an exclusive article.
The NATO Summit in The Hague: what is it like today, but the day before, Western media wrote that the summit was shortened so as not to irritate Trump? And today we even see a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump on the agenda, which also looks like a change in the situation.
I think we have even exceeded our expectations somewhat, because we expected that Ukraine would indeed be given less attention than usual. But talking to my colleagues here, I see that Ukraine is still the No. 1 priority for our European partners. Ukraine remains in focus, and many are talking about the need for further support for Ukraine. Therefore, we are definitely not written off, and I understand why. Because for Europeans, this war threatens their security. Unlike the current events in the Middle East.
President Zelenskyy warned that the Russian Federation could attack NATO countries in the next 5 years. Bloomberg is already drawing scenarios of possible Russian aggression against the Baltic states. Does Europe fully realize the threat?
We see that Europe has indeed woken up. Europe has also woken up because it received such a cold shower after the speech of US Vice President J.D. Vance at the Munich Conference, who called for more reliance on its own strength. And we see a lot of initiatives being launched by the European Union, including, for example, the SAFE program, which provides for 150 billion euros in joint arms procurement for the member states of the Alliance, for the member states of the European Union. So, indeed, we see that there is a willingness and desire to continue to help Ukraine, realizing that the threat is primarily for European countries.
Canada and the European Union signed a defense agreement before the NATO summit. What does it mean to sign a defense agreement “without the US and Trump” and how will it affect the unity of the Alliance?
The demand for increased spending is not new. In fact, the NATO summit in The Hague is dedicated to this very topic. Not everywhere there is full agreement among partners. We have seen that Spain opposes such a sharp increase in defense spending to 5%. But it’s not even the percentage that matters here, it’s the capabilities that each European country should have.
Each country should, on the one hand, spend money at its own discretion, but get an effective, combat-ready army. That is, someone can do it with a conventional 100 million, someone can do it with a conventional 100 billion. On the other hand, they have obligations to the Alliance: who should have armed forces, equipment, weapons, etc. Therefore, the most important thing is the result, which is called “in fact”, rather than the numbers that are being voted on there – whether 5 percent, 3 percent, or 2.5 percent.
Every country can optimize these costs. And not every country, to be honest, can spend this money. Because, for example, Luxembourg, a very rich country, cannot spend even their 2%. They say they’re ready, but what do they spend it on? Because they don’t have a large army, they don’t have access to the sea to have, so to speak, some kind of fleet, and so on. So we need to be more flexible here, but with specific requirements for the combat capability of each individual country.
What does Trump’s harsh statement to Putin, who offered mediation in the conflict between Iran and Israel, mean, “I need help with you”?
This is the subtext we hear from Trump, that the problem is on Putin’s side. And he understands this, and he knows this. Whether he is ready to take more decisive steps now is not something we can say yet. However, sooner or later, President Trump will have to respond to the fact that the Russian Federation is not only not accepting the ceasefire proposal, but is not even giving hints that it is ready for peace, for sustainable peace, because it continues and even increases its attacks on Ukraine.
After the G7 summit, when Trump left the event early, the Financial Times wrote that the reason for Trump’s sudden return to Washington was his unwillingness to communicate with some European leaders. There was information that Trump knew that Russia was preparing a massive shelling of Ukraine and fled because he knew that the world would demand a decisive response. During the NATO summit in The Hague, another terrorist attack hit the Dnipro region, where more than 160 people were injured and some were killed. Will they demand a response from Trump?
I am sure that the Trump administration is fully aware of what is happening in Ukraine. I don’t know if Trump is ready to respond publicly today, we’ll see. There are many different geopolitical components. For example, the non-interference of the Russian Federation in what is happening in Iran. Trump is not in a hurry to impose new sanctions on Russia, so as not to provoke it to support Iran or to enter into even closer cooperation with it, at least until the situation with Iran becomes clearer.
So, Europe has really woken up. And although the summit in The Hague was billed as “more modest,” Ukraine is once again at the center of geopolitical discussion. NATO, the EU, and Canada are demonstrating a desire to strengthen their defense. And the United States is looking for a balance between the Middle East explosion and the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Yegor Chernev’s words summarize the main point: the focus on Ukraine remains, despite new challenges. Russia’s isolation continues. The only question is whether the West will dare to take the next step before the Kremlin launches its next missile.
Author – Anastasia Fedor
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