ANPGert Wilders
NOS News•today, 12:30•Changed today, 13:35
PVV leader Geert Wilders is not happy with the ten-year security agreement that the outgoing cabinet will conclude with Ukraine. A cabinet that only handles current affairs cannot conclude such a deal, he said on X. At the same time, he says for the first time that he is willing to talk about “any form of support” for Ukraine, including military support.
Until now, the PVV did not want to go further than “political support” for the struggle of the Ukrainians against the Russians. Time and again, Wilders and MPs from his faction argued that military support, such as weapons and ammunition, was out of the question. The Dutch army cannot do without those resources, was the reasoning, because they are needed to protect our own country.
A few weeks ago, PVV MP Yuri Pool called the arms deliveries to Kyiv “constant provocations against the Russian Federation”. Later he was publicly dismissed by his party colleague Raymond de Roon. Those statements were “too simplistic”, but Russian President Putin can support them experienced as a provocation, De Roon said at the time.
Today, on the day that it is commemorated that the war started two years ago, party leader Wilders is moving a little further. When asked by NOS whether he also means military support by “any form of support”, he does not answer in the negative: “It does indeed say ‘any’. And that we are prepared to talk about it.”
Side by side
Until now, the PVV has also been relatively alone in its position that Ukraine should only receive political support. A large majority of the House of Representatives supports the government’s policy and said in a statement today that it stands “side by side” with Ukraine on a political, economic and military level. “Today and for as long as necessary.”
Prime Minister Rutte said last Friday that it would be impossible to form a new cabinet if the PVV continued to insist that the Netherlands should stop providing financial and material support to Ukraine. “I think Geert Wilders realizes that very well,” Rutte said.
Wilders has recently come under increasing criticism of the PVV’s position on the Ukraine issue. Last week, GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans called the PVV leader “an admirer of Putin”, who, as far as he is concerned, should not be given direct responsibility for national defense and security.
Cabinet formation
As the largest party, the PVV still has the lead in cabinet formation. Discussions about this will continue next Monday. Informant Kim Putters wrote in a letter to the party leaders yesterday that he strives for the broadest possible common basis on which the parties agree.
As far as he is concerned, this is not only about the democratic constitutional state, but also about the finances and international position of the Netherlands. “It plays an important role – certainly in the coming period,” says Putters. The other parties with which the PVV has discussed a coalition, VVD, NSC and BBB, unequivocally support Ukraine.
Political reporter Wilma Borgman:
“You cannot separate this statement from Wilders from the cabinet formation. On Monday there will be a document on the table from the new informant Kim Putters, which states that they really have to agree on the international position of the Netherlands. That of course also concerns the support to Ukraine.
The fact that the PVV put on the brakes was a major obstacle on the way to a new cabinet. This tweet from Wilders indicates that he wants to largely remove that obstacle.”
Yesterday, outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruins Slot announced that our country wants to conclude an agreement with Ukraine, stating that the Netherlands wants to support the country for at least ten years “in the areas of security, defense, reconstruction and justice”. Bruins Slot calls it “a powerful signal to Russia”. Other countries are also entering into similar agreements.
To date, the Netherlands has supplied military goods worth more than 2.8 billion euros and is helping Kyiv with training soldiers. The government therefore wants to continue that support. In his message on Such a cabinet is no longer expected to make major decisions, he believes.
After the fall of the Rutte IV cabinet, the House of Representatives drew up a list of topics that were declared ‘controversial’ and on which there would therefore be no further proposals from the cabinet. The war in Ukraine was emphatically not included on that list.
2024-02-24 11:30:52
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