On Tuesday, the heads of state from all 32 NATO member states arrived in Washington, DC, to begin a three-day summit commemorating the alliance’s 75th anniversary. During the meeting, the continuing conflict in Ukraine is anticipated to take centre stage.
The majority of the activities will take place in the heavily guarded Walter E. Washington Convention Centre in downtown Washington, D.C., during the event that takes place from July 9th to the 11th. The US Chamber of Commerce, the State Department, and the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium are among the locations that have been scheduled for additional meetings.
The first gathering of will be Tuesday night’s NATO celebration at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, which will honour the alliance’s 75th anniversary. Remarks are anticipated to be delivered by both US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
All thirty-two member nations’ top leaders, as well as those from the alliance’s Indo-Pacific Partners (South Korea, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand), will be in attendance at the summits.
Türkiye will be represented at the summit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
During Wednesday night’s social dinner at the White House, Biden will host national leaders. Simultaneously, the foreign ministers will be hosted for dinner by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Library of Congress and by Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin at Fort McNair.
The fate of vital American aid remains uncertain in the run-up to the November presidential election, so this week’s talks will centre on how to sustain and strengthen the alliance’s support for Ukraine.
Last week, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg stated that maintaining support from alliance members is “our most urgent task” during the next summit, highlighting the significant role that Ukraine will play in the discussions. President Trump has stated his hope that world leaders “will agree a substantial package for Ukraine” during the summit.
To head off any problems with military aid that might arise from the re-election of former president Trump in November, Stoltenberg announced that the alliance will officially “take over the coordination and provision of most international security assistance” for Ukraine. This includes establishing a command centre in Germany, run by a three-star general and several hundred soldiers, to ensure smooth naval operations. Along the eastern border of NATO, more “logistical nodes” will be set up in member nations.
Due to Russia’s deepening connections with China and Beijing’s rising influence in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic, the alliance has recently shifted its attention to China. Over the course of the three days, the allies will likely focus on ways to improve relations with their Pacific allies.
This is expected to be discussed at depth during Thursday morning’s meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the main political decision-making body of NATO, with Indo-Pacific Partners and the EU. Thursday afternoon will see the formation of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the leader level, following the summit.
Press conferences given by Stoltenberg and Biden on Thursday night will mark the end of the meeting.
(Soruce: AA)
