British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday that Britain was “no Amazon” when it came to arms sales to Ukraine and hinted that Kiev could show its allies more “gratitude” to the Russian invasion.
“This war is a noble war (…), but sometimes you have to convince the parliamentarians in the United States.” “We have to convince politicians who in other countries are wondering if it’s worth it,” Wallace told British media on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
“Like it or not, people want to see gratitude,” he added.
“People in the UK have always supported us. We are very grateful to him,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I don’t know what he (Wallace) meant and how I could be grateful to him.”
Mr Zelenskyy turned to his Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, then laughingly asked him to offer “words of gratitude” to Mr Wallace by calling the British minister “today”.
British media reports that Wallace also expressed frustration when he received a “list” of weapons Ukraine needed during a trip to Ukraine last year.
“You know, we’re not Amazon. I told them that last year when I drove 11 hours to get a list,” Wallace said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was also in Vilnius, tried to calm the situation.
“President Zelenskyy has expressed his gratitude for what we have done on many occasions, including in his incredibly moving address to the (British) Parliament earlier this year,” he said during a news conference.
“I know that he and his people are incredibly grateful for the support we are showing, for the welcome we have given to many Ukrainian families, but also for the leadership we are showing in this conflict,” he added.
On the second day of the summit in the Lithuanian capital and almost 18 months after the start of the Russian invasion, the G7 members (US, UK, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan) presented a new plan Ukraine’s security.
This announcement was welcomed by Ukraine, which however stressed that this should not be a substitute for its future membership of the Atlantic Alliance.