US to announce measures to strengthen European security at NATO summit

USA will announce new measures to strengthen European security at the summit of the OTAN which will take place between June 29 and 30 in Madrid, which will be attended by the US president, Joe Biden.

A high-ranking White House official explained in a call with journalists that “new great contributions” are also expected at that meeting from the Alliance’s allies. The source specified that the partners will announce “new commitments” in their position of strength to consolidate the alliance and stressed that Biden “has been very clear” that NATO must defend “every inch” of its own territory, in the context of the war in Ukraine.

“As we have seen in recent months, the US has been very quick to add additional forces to NATO and calm our allies, especially those on the eastern flank,” the official said.

The source added that Washington wants to ensure that NATO has sufficient resources to meet its commitments, noting that US allies have increased their defense spending over the past seven years.

“We expect this upward trajectory to continue and accelerate in the coming months and years,” he stressed.

One of the big announcements at the summit will be the new strategic concept that will guide NATO in the coming years, “as the alliance safeguards Euro-Atlantic security in response to a wide range of threats and challenges,” added the official, who recalled that the last such concept was launched in 2010. In this regard, he considered that Russia continues to be the “most serious and immediate” threat, but indicated that the new strategic concept will also address the challenges posed by China in the long term, as well as how to face transnational threats, “including cyber, climate, hybrids and in space”.

For the first time, the summit will be attended by leaders from the Indo-Pacific region, such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, all of them US allies in their competition against Beijing. Regarding the Turkish reluctance to join Finland and Sweden to NATO, the source explained that in recent days the US has maintained contacts with officials of these three countries to encourage them to move forward with a commitment that allows the process to continue. .

“We are looking forward to bringing them (Sweden and Finland) quickly into the NATO alliance and remain confident that Turkey’s concerns will be addressed and that we will be able to reach a consensus,” the source said.

The official added that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address NATO leaders meeting in Madrid, as well as leaders of the G7 summit in Germany, which will precede the alliance’s meeting. In fact, before visiting Spain, Biden will travel to Germany the previous days to attend the G7 meeting, which will take place from June 26 to 28 at Schloss Elmau.

Another White House official commented in the same call with journalists that the US president will take part in the seven work sessions that will touch on topics such as the global economy, infrastructure, climate, energy security and Ukraine.

The meeting of the seven most industrialized countries in the world (USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan) will be joined as guests by Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa. The source announced that the G7 leaders “will launch a series of concrete proposals to increase pressure on Russia” and demonstrate collective support for Ukraine.

Apart from Russia, the competition with China will be another of the issues at the dialogue table, where the allies will seek to strengthen their cooperation regarding the challenges posed by Beijing and in economic matters and cyberspace.

The source anticipated that “China’s coercive economic practices” will predictably be one of the main topics of the meeting. The official added that the summit participants will officially announce “a global infrastructure collaboration” to support low- and middle-income countries, “while advancing US competitiveness and national security.”

During his stay in Germany, Biden plans to hold a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Olaf Schultz, who will host the summit.