Ukraine says NATO funding idea will only work if members have to contribute

(Adds context, Kuleba quote) April 4 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Thursday supported NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg's idea of the alliance providing long-term support to Kyiv, but said the measure would have "zero chance" without obligatory contributions, the European Pravda outlet reported.

(Adds context, Kuleba quote) April 4 (Reuters) -

Ukraine on Thursday supported NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg's idea of the alliance providing long-term support to Kyiv, but said the measure would have "zero chance" without obligatory contributions, the European Pravda outlet reported. Stoltenberg this week proposed creating a 100 billion euro ($107 billion) five-year fund to support Ukraine, an idea that has drawn mixed responses around NATO.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the 32-member alliance had experienced difficulties in raising military assistance of much smaller volumes. "In other words, in the current funding model, this initiative has zero chances. Because they can't collect 500 million, and here they would have to collect 20 billion in the current model," Kuleba was quoted as saying.

But if all the bloc's members were obliged to contribute, he added, the plan could "exist and has a chance of being implemented".