Rutte proposes NATO members to allocate 0.25% of their GDPs to Ukraine - press

WASHINGTON. May 13 (Interfax) - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has proposed the alliance's member states to start allocating 0.25% of their GDPs for aid to Ukraine annually, but some members have already opposed this initiative, Politico said on Wednesday, citing sources.

"The alliance's secretary-general raised the possibility at a closed-door meeting of NATO ambassadors late last month [...] He was speaking as part of preparations for the alliance's upcoming July summit in Turkey," the media outlet said with a reference to its sources, including two diplomats.

Based on NATO's own estimate of its combined GDP, the aid would mean allocating $143 billion to Ukraine every year, Politico said.

Rutte's proposal came partly as a response to dissatisfaction voiced by some members of the alliance believing that they are doing much more than others to aid Ukraine, Politico's sources said.

However, some countries, including France and the United States, opposed such initiative, and the unanimous support of the NATO member states is needed to approve it.