NATO gathers for summit in Washington DC
All eyes will be on the disputed American president Joe Biden.
– Every step he takes and every word he says will be scrutinized, says TV4 Nyhetern’s foreign correspondent Tomas Kvarnkullen.
Criticism of Joe Biden and his advanced age has increased even more after his weak performance in the debate against rival candidate Donald Trump.
And when NATO gathers for a summit in the US capital this week, there is a lot at stake for the soon-to-be 82-year-old sitting president.
– It is a directly decisive summit and decisive week for the president after the uncertainty surrounding his future, and the leadership role that the US has in NATO, says TV4 Nyhetern’s foreign correspondent Tomas Kvarnkullen from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Two important meetings in Congress
Tomas Kvarnkullen says that the American press will have Biden under scrutiny basically constantly during the meeting days, but that it may still be heading in the right direction for the president.
– There are still members who demand that he step aside, but we also hear several Democrats who openly go out and show their support for him, he says and continues:
– He has two important meetings in Congress today with Democrats both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, and when they are finished we will have a better picture of what the support for Biden looks like.
More countries reach the goal
Donald Trump has on several occasions expressed his criticism of NATO, which has mainly been directed at the fact that few member countries do not reach the goal of spending two percent of their GDP on defense.
Today, 23 out of 32 member states meet that goal.
– It will be important for the member states to point out that more countries are now reaching the goal of two percent, says Tomas Kvarnkullen.
Arms support to Ukraine
For Sweden, it is the first time that it participates as a full member in the meeting, where all member states except Hungary will agree on arms support to Ukraine of SEK 400 billion annually.
Estonia has promised to earmark 0.25 percent of their GDP for the aid.
Sweden will contribute militarily to Ukraine but does not promise such a clear picture of the cost.