NATO Summit: Biden wants to close the wounds opened by Trump

Its leaders hope to open a new chapter in transatlantic relations NATO at today’s summit of leaders. This is the first meeting since the election of US President Joe Biden in which they agree for the first time to tackle climate change and resist China’s military rise.

Today’s meeting, which NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg described as a “critical moment”, aims to turn the page after four years of tension with former US President Donald Trump, which dealt a blow to confidence in the Atlantic Alliance, which he had described as “outdated”.

Two friction issues arise: defense funding and China. “There are issues on which we agree and issues on which we disagree,” Stoltenberg admitted.

He himself went to Washington last Monday to finalize the final announcement of the summit. During that visit, he agreed with the United States on the challenge posed by China.

“We see that Russia and China have been cooperating more and more lately, both politically and militarily. “This is a new dimension and a serious challenge for NATO,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt.

THE Joe Biden The White House said in a statement that it wanted “the security challenges posed by China to be included in the communication”.

But some other leaders disagree. “The heart of NATO is the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. “This is not the time to waste our efforts,” Paris said.

“The phraseology used in relation to China will not be provocative. It will be clear, immediate and without twists and turns, “US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan assured on Sunday.

NATO Summit: To close the wounds

The meeting starts today at 13:00 in Brussels (14:00 Greek time) and will last three hours. During that time, the leaders of the NATO member states will sign a reform plan with a horizon of 2030 and will officially decide to start reorganizing their basic, central principles, which were last updated in 2010, so that the Alliance can deal with the new threats to space and cyberspace.

But at the meeting the wounds that remain open by him must also be closed Donald Trump. The withdrawal from Afghanistan, which the United States decided without first consulting with its allies, has damaged the credibility of NATO operations.

Europe has become more vulnerable after the US withdrew from several nuclear-weapon-restricted agreements with Moscow, according to the APE, citing Reuters and AFP.

Finally, Trump’s contempt for Europeans has annoyed the leaders of the old continent, while his refusal to remind Turkey of its obligations has exacerbated tensions with the EU.

Chinese Trojan Horse

Russia will remain the “first priority”. But NATO members are also called upon to confront “the Chinese Trojan Horse,” Alessandro Marone said in an analysis published by the Instituto Affari Internazionali.

“The aim is not to shift NATO’s interest to Asia, but to take into account that China is approaching us and trying to control our strategic infrastructure,” Stoltenberg explained. “The Alliance must improve co-operation between its members and invest more,” he said.

Europeans say they are ready to do so. But they want their contribution to common security to be “fully recognized” and are seeking to take part in arms reduction talks, Paris warned.

“Biden is more open to improving Europe’s defense capabilities, but it will not be free. “The Americans will have more demands when the time comes when it comes to drawing Europeans to their side on issues related to Asia and the Pacific,” said Arno Danzan, a defense expert.

In addition, Europeans need to be considered more “credible”. Twenty-one EU countries are members of NATO, but only eight are keeping their commitment to spend 2% of their GDP on defense.