The NATO summit in Madrid this week showcased a remarkable degree of unity around the need to bolster defense spending and strengthen the alliance to defend Europe from further Russian aggression, as well as adapt to the threat posed by a rising and belligerent China. The summit concluded with an agreement to add two new members to the alliance—Sweden and Finland—as well as fresh U.S. commitments to bolster its forces in Europe.
One of the more outspoken congressional voices on foreign affairs in recent years has been Sen. Chris Coons, a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the bipartisan congressional delegation that took part in the summit. Coons, a Delaware Democrat, has been unusually active in promoting U.S. interests in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, and has been in recent months especially outspoken in the need for steadfast U.S. support for Kyiv as it fights for its survival against a brutal Russian invasion.
Foreign Policy spoke with the senator at the end of his Madrid visit about the next steps in U.S. assistance to Ukraine, Turkey’s role in aiding Kyiv and expanding the alliance, and what the pivot to China means for NATO.
The NATO summit in Madrid this week showcased a remarkable degree of unity around the need to bolster defense spending and strengthen the alliance to defend Europe from further Russian aggression, as well as adapt to the threat posed by a rising and belligerent China. The summit concluded with an agreement to add two new members to the alliance—Sweden and Finland—as well as fresh U.S. commitments to bolster its forces in Europe.
One of the more outspoken congressional voices on foreign affairs in recent years has been Sen. Chris Coons, a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the bipartisan congressional delegation that took part in the summit. Coons, a Delaware Democrat, has been unusually active in promoting U.S. interests in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, and has been in recent months especially outspoken in the need for steadfast U.S. support for Kyiv as it fights for its survival against a brutal Russian invasion.
Foreign Policy spoke with the senator at the end of his Madrid visit about the next steps in U.S. assistance to Ukraine, Turkey’s role in aiding Kyiv and expanding the alliance, and what the pivot to China means for NATO.
This interview has been edited lightly for length and clarity.
Foreign Policy: One thing that seems to have been a constant refrain for months, from Ukrainian lawmakers, defense officials, is that they want the West and the United States to do more. Do you think the pace and scope of U.S. arms deliveries has been up to the task?
Chris Coons: So just to be clear, every time I’ve ever spoken to a Ukrainian leader, and we had a chance to talk to the mayor of Kyiv and to the deputy who runs [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky’s office in person as a delegation, they expressed gratitude for just how much we’re providing. I think it’s $6 billion in U.S. military hardware so far and billions in direct economic support. So I agree with you that there is a tension between just how much support we’ve provided in military hardware, in economic support, and humanitarian support, and the constant drumbeat of “We want more, we want more, we want more.” But they’re in a fight for their existence as an independent country, I don’t fault them at all. I came away from our briefings with [U.S. Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin, Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, and President [Joe] Biden today significantly encouraged about the timing, the planning of the delivery, and the strategic relevance of the systems being deployed by the United States and some of our closest allies.
FP: You mentioned here earlier that one key will be increased provision of assistance, especially in the summer and the fall. Is there going to be enough…
Read More: Sen. Chris Coons on Ukraine War, Turkey, and NATO’s China Pivot