NATO meets in Lithuania.. Complex files for discussion
Healed today in the capital of Lithuania, Summit of the Atlantic Alliance Which centered on the accession of Sweden and Ukraine to NATO.
However, it is not the only point, as there are many pressing issues awaiting the meeting of leaders from Europe and North America in Vilnius, especially since this meeting comes amid a counterattack that has been confirmed to be slower than desired, as described by President Volodymyr Zelensky, and with Kiev’s renewed attempts to join the alliance. .
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed Monday that there is a lot on NATO’s to-do list for this week.
He explained that strengthening the defenses of the alliance, increasing Ukrainian support, and responding to the Russian military operation, as well as deepening cooperation with partners and organizing bases, are the most prominent things that will be discussed, according to the “”NPR“.
Will countries increase their defense spending?
After the Russian invasion prompted the alliance to comprehensively review its defense systems on its eastern front, the summit is scheduled to discuss this point.
NATO members pledged in 2014 to increase minimum defense spending to 2% of national GDP by 2024.
The President of Lithuania calls on NATO to nullify the founding law on relations and cooperation between the alliance and Moscow
Only 8 out of 31 countries have achieved this goal so far: the United States, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Greece.
While Stoltenberg said during a visit to Washington last month that he expected the allies to agree that the 2% target should be a minimum, he made clear that the allies would pledge at their meetings a greater defense investment of at least 2% of GDP per year in defence.
What about China?
China will not be absent from the talks, especially since NATO leaders have repeatedly warned of the possibility of a repeat of the Ukrainian scenario in Taiwan.
Accordingly, Christopher Scalopa, director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative with the Atlantic Council, thought last week that NATO is looking forward to seeing how Chinese investment in Europe advances national security concerns.
He asked in a statement, if China is investing in a port someday, can NATO somehow impede military movement through this port in a crisis?
He added that trying to better understand and better connect the United States and its allies across the Atlantic and Pacific is a big part of what the allies are trying to do this week in Vilnius.
New joins to the alliance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Monday for a “clear signal” regarding his country’s accession to NATO, on the eve of the alliance’s summit in Vilnius.
It is expected that Zelensky will arrive carrying a message to the leaders of the 31 member states of the alliance, stating that his country deserves to join the alliance when the war ends.
Kiev, as well as Eastern European countries, are calling for a clear road map, considering it necessary for Ukraine to join the security umbrella of NATO to discourage Moscow from launching new attacks in the future. But Washington and Berlin are reluctant to go beyond the promise made by NATO that Ukraine would one day join without setting a clear timetable.
NATO leaders discuss the future of Ukraine’s membership in the alliance
Ukraine is not alone. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced that he would support Sweden’s membership in the alliance.
years old agreement
It is noteworthy that the agreement between NATO and Moscow was signed in 1997.
However, despite this, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausida called on member states to nullify the founding law for relations and cooperation between the alliance and Moscow, calling for the establishment of permanent military bases near Russia’s borders.
And he believed that there was no longer any meaning for the law of relations and cooperation with Russia after its deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, according to his words to the newspaper “The Times”.
The alliance also called for identifying the clearest and shortest path to Ukraine’s accession in order to raise the morale of the Ukrainian forces.
Then he admitted that Kiev’s membership was practically impossible while the country was at war.
NATO leaders are scheduled to meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Lithuania for a summit that will be dominated by the alliance’s response to the war in Ukraine as well as Kiev’s request to join the system. They will also focus on Sweden’s membership file, which Turkey is still obstructing, and they will also discuss the issue of military expenditures and the alliance’s strategic plans, especially since the Russian invasion prompted it to comprehensively review its defense systems on its eastern front.
