President Biden will meet with the Allies this week for a NATO summit in Madrid, which is expected to focus on the security alliance, which is projecting its unity and co-ordination amid the Russian war in Ukraine.
The summit, which follows the summit of the Group of Seven in Germany, is expected to cover a number of issues outside the Russian war, including Finland and Sweden’s bids to join the organization.
Here are five things to look out for during the NATO summit.
Demonstration of support for Ukraine
Russia’s war in Ukraine has entered its fourth month, and NATO leaders are expected to make their support for Ukraine a top priority.
This is a top priority for Biden, who has put support for Ukraine at the top of his agenda.
“He will take part in a NATO summit, where the alliance has never really been more united,” said John Kirby, coordinator of the National Security Council for Strategic Communications.
During a visit to Poland in March, Biden stressed that Putin had failed to split NATO and stressed that the most important thing was for the United States and its allies to remain coordinated. He also reaffirmed his commitment to NATO’s Article 5 principle of collective defense, which states that an attack on one NATO application is an attack on all.
Ukrainian President Zelensky will speak in practice at the NATO summit. Biden said a visit to Ukraine was unlikely during the trip.
Zelensky’s address “will allow leaders to hear directly from him and will also allow NATO allies to show their continued determination to support Ukraine as it defends itself,” a senior administration official said.
The battle of Turkey for the candidacies for membership of Finland and Sweden
Finland and Sweden have applied for NATO membership, but the Scandinavian countries have been delayed in talks with Turkey, which has opposed the bid because of the two governments’ support for Kurdish groups, which Turkey considers terrorist organizations.
Turkey may, in essence, veto Finland and Sweden to join NATO, as all members must agree to accept new countries.
It is unclear whether Biden, who has expressed support for Finland and Sweden, will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the issue. Senior administration officials, when asked for a meeting, point to the ability of leaders to meet on the periphery of the summit, even if no meetings are scheduled.
Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland and an expert on the Atlantic Council, says Biden needs to be more directly involved in resolving differences with Erdogan.
“Biden has to deal with this,” Fried said.
Turkey has said it does not see the summit as a deadline for deciding whether to accept the Scandinavian countries. As Turkey continues to oppose their membership, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has not provided a timetable for when Finland and Sweden can formally join.
Rose Gottemüller, a former NATO deputy secretary general, predicts it will take at least a year for the two countries to join the alliance if Turkey withdraws its objections. Legislators in each NATO member country must propose approval.
There was a bipartisan agreement in Congress on the candidacies of Finland and Sweden, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee easily passed a resolution earlier this month, pushing for NATO to accept them quickly.
Looking at the threat from China
Leaders at the NATO summit are expected to approve a new strategic concept – the first in 2010 – that will explicitly address China’s challenges for the first time.
Kirby told reporters Thursday that the strategic concept is based on months of talks about China’s threat to international security.
“I think this is a reflection of the equal concerns of our allies about the effects of Chinese economic practices, the use of forced labor, intellectual theft and forced aggressive behavior not only in the region but all over the world. That they believe it is important to include China in the new strategic concept, “he said.
The White House also stressed that leaders from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea are attending the meeting for the first time this year.
While Russia is the most immediate threat to the alliance, China is seen as a multilateral and long-term threat. The alliance is expected to discuss economic and cyber threats coming from China, as well as security in the Indo-Pacific.
Biden administration officials insist they continue to focus on China, even as they fight the war in Ukraine.
“Instead of distracting us from the Indo-Pacific region and China, the president’s leadership in support of Ukraine actually stimulates leaders in the region and effectively connects efforts in Europe and Asia and those Asian countries that will participate in the NATO summit. . “I think it says a lot about that fact,” Kirby said.
However, experts say the United States must inevitably split its focus between security in Europe and Asia.
“The United States is more in balance,” Gottemüller said.
States to improve commitments to the armed forces
NATO members are expected to fulfill their commitments to increase forces to strengthen Allied defenses during the Russian war in Ukraine.
Biden officials said the new plans would help strengthen NATO and deter Russian aggression at a critical time.
“The president was very clear in the context of the crisis in Ukraine that NATO would defend every inch of NATO territory,” a senior administration official told reporters.
Fried said there would be special discussions to increase NATO’s presence in the Baltic states and Poland, which are close neighbors of Ukraine.
“The war in Ukraine shows us that Russia can attack, but it also shows us that it is possible to defend the Baltic states,” he said, noting that Russian forces had performed below expectations. “There is an argument that NATO should increase its eastern position to the strength of the brigade.
Focus on defense spending
Talking about increasing defense spending has been a contentious issue for the alliance, especially during the previous administration, when former President Trump pressured countries to spend more on defense to meet NATO’s goal of each member state spending 2 percent of gross domestic product. for defense spending.
The war in Ukraine has forced nations to commit to spending more on their defense, especially Germany, which earlier this year promised to spend more than 2 percent of GDP after years of falling behind.
How many bad actors use technology platforms for sexual exploitation, trafficking in Ukrainian women Half of the new poll say that Trump tried to stay in office through illegal means
“Throughout this crisis, NATO countries have promised more defense spending,” Gottemüller said. “I think they will all look at their defense budgets.
Gottemüller said he would not be surprised if there was a renewed commitment to the 2 per cent promise or specific promises of further defense spending.
A senior administration official said the United States expects the “upward trajectory” of defense spending over the past seven years to continue and accelerate, and will work to ensure that the alliance has good resources.
Add Comment