Washington will host some thirty NATO leaders from Tuesday, July 9, gathered to mark the 75th anniversary of this political-military organization. Between the potential accession of Donald Trump to the presidency, the conflict in Ukraine and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, the signatory countries will celebrate this anniversary until Thursday, although it is tinged with several challenges.
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President Joe Biden plans to receive delegations from all 31 full members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), at the Mellon Auditorium, the very place where the treaty creating the Atlantic Alliance was signed in 1949, located very close to the White House.
The American administration insists on this occasion 75th summit to recall that under the presidency of Joe Bidenthe Atlantic Alliance has expanded to include new countries such as Sweden and Finlanda sign of good health for NATO.
Ukraine asks for more aid
But beyond this celebration, the Alliance faces very current challenges, which will begin this Tuesday, July 9. The most important challenge remains that of helping Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. Even though his country is not a member of the Atlantic Alliance, President Volodymyr Zelensky will be there to plead with his Western allies for more air defense systems, following new Massive strikes on several Ukrainian cities which left at least 37 dead and 150 injured, including in a children’s hospital in kyiv.
Announcements are planned in this sense during the summit, particularly in terms of weapons and ammunition. Since the sending of aid to its Ukrainian ally resumed in April, the situation that was looking bad for Ukraine has stabilized, the White House emphasizes. It is therefore a question, with this Washington summit, of sending a clear signal to Vladimir Putin to tell him that he is mistaken if he thinks he can prevail over the coalition set up around Ukraine.
For its part, the Kremlin indicated on Tuesday that it was following up with “ maximum attention “This NATO meeting because the Atlantic Alliance” considers Russia as its enemy “, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing.
Partnerships with the Indo-Pacific
Regarding the files in Indo-Pacifica meeting is planned with privileged partners who are not members of NATO: representatives of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand will be there to underline the importance of the Western presence in the region.
It is not about getting these countries to join, but rather about signalling that the view the United States also remains directed towards this area, where ambitions and China’s expansionism represent a challenge as great as what is happening in Europe, NATO’s usual operating ground.
One issue that should not be forgotten is the question of the relationship with the southern neighbourhood in the context of the war in Gaza, which has increased tensions between NATO countries and the countries of the South, which perceive a form of double standard between the attitude towards Ukraine and that towards Gaza.
Elie Tennenbaum, Director of IFRI
Challenges for the host country
Finally, this meeting remains dominated by the climate of political uncertainty in the run-up to the American presidential election in November. First issue: what would happen if Donald Trump returned to power – he who has already threatened to leave the organization – and let Russia do what he has already suggested?
Then the question of Joe Biden’s healthThe White House says no allies have expressed concern about the move, but the US president plans to use the opportunity to finally answer questions from the press, to show that he is able to assume American leadership.
However, some issues remain unresolved. The White House announced that under its leadership, 23 of the 31 member countries have now reached or exceeded the target of 2% of GDP devoted to military spending. A target that was set about ten years ago, but which has still not been reached by eight countries. This summit will therefore be an opportunity to remind them of this.
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