Trump to meet with NATO general secretary in the middle of a plan to sell weapons to Ukraine

President Trump will meet with NATO general secretary Mark Rutte, this week after the US leader announcing plans to sell weapons of NATO allies that can be transmitted to Ukraine.

In a statement, NATO said that Routte will be in Washington on Monday and Tuesday and will also meet with Secretary of State Frame Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the members of Congress.

News themezone contacted the White House to make additional comments.

Senator Lindsey Graham confirmed in “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that he and Democratic senator Richard Blucenthal will meet with Routte on Monday.

“A turning point about the invasion of Ukraine of Russia is approaching,” Graham said.

Although NATO’s statement did not declare a reason for Routte’s trip, it occurs after Trump joked last week that would make an “important statement” in Russia on Monday, since Ukraine struggles to repel massive and complex aerial assaults launched by Russian forces.

The president also hinted that his administration will send more defensive weapons to Ukraine in the middle of his war with Russia, days later pause Some arms shipments.

“We are going to send some more weapons. We have to do it. They have to be able to defend themselves,” Trump told reporters during a White House event with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night.

Graham said in “Face the Nation” to “be attentive to a plan in which the United States will begin selling our European allies huge amounts of weapons that can benefit Ukraine.”

“The idea that the United States sells weapons to help Ukraine is at stake,” said Graham. “We have given Ukraine a lot. We give them the money, we give them military help. Now we have a mineral agreement with Ukraine that is worth billions of dollars. Therefore, I do not want to get ahead of the president, but we keep attentive to the seized assets. Europeans want to limit interest in assets to go to Ukraine.”

Rubio said on Friday that some of the weapons made in the United States that Ukraine seeks unfold with NATO allies in Europe. These weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries that buy replacements from the United States, he said.

“It is much faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than to order it from a factory (USA) and take it there,” Rubio told journalists last week during a visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malays.

Trump also faces Republican and Democrats calls, as well as European allies, to support the Senate legislation that aims to paralyze the Russian oil industry and hit Moscow with US sanctions for their continuous invasion of Ukraine. The legislation, in part, requires a 500% tariff on the imported goods of the countries that continue to buy oil, gas, uranium and other Russian exports. It would have a huge impact on China and India economic giants, which represent approximately 70% of Russian’s energy trade.

Graham said he and Blumenthal have the support of “sanctions of the Congress with a deck” that “will go later” from the economy of Russian President Vladimir Putin and “all those countries that underpin the Putin War Machine.”

“This Congress package we are seeing would give President Trump the ability to impose 500% tariffs on any country that helps Russia and underpin the Putin war machine,” Graham said. “You can mark it up or down. You can go to 0%, to 500%. It has maximum flexibility. But we go after people who keep Putin in additional business and sanctions on Russia.

Blumenthal said that this is a “critical moment” for these sanctions and “knocking down this deck at this time was emphasized by all European allies who were at the meeting to which Senator Graham and I attended in Europe.”

In other places, multiple diplomatic sources told News themezone that Trump is considering authorizing new funds for Ukraine for the first time since he assumed the position in January.

The sources indicated that the new financing could be destined to send a message to Russia. American officials told News themezone Mr. Trump has $ 3.85 billion in the presidential reduction authority of the Biden era that feels at his disposal, which could be used to send US military teams to Ukraine. The former officials also told News themezone that the President has the authority to confiscate around $ 5 billion in foreign Russian assets and direct the funds to Ukraine, although neither the former President Joe Biden have used that power.

The Congress has been prepared to act on the legislation, sponsored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, for some time.

The bill has overwhelming support in the Senate, but republican leadership has been waiting for Trump to give him green light before advancing with him. The White House had expressed some reserves about the legislation.

Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.

• Ukraine
• Russia
• NATO