The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held a summit in Brussels on Monday with China and Russia, the strategic rivals of the United States and Europe, as the main focus of the agenda.
In the final statement, NATO noted that China’s ambitions and its attitude to the international community represent “systemic challenges.”
“China’s declared ambitions and its current assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order,” noted the leaders, who also warned that the Asian giant “is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal.”
On Russia, the members of the Atlantic alliance warned the country governed by Vladimir Putin that there can be no improvement in bilateral relations if the Russian government does not show respect for its international commitments.
“Until Russia shows respect for international law and its international obligations and commitments, there can be no return to normalcy,” NATO leaders noted in their lengthy statement at the end of a summit.
During the summit, US President Joe Biden warned that NATO faces new challenges posed by the presence of Russia and China.
“There is growing recognition in recent years that we have new challenges. We have Russia, which behaves differently from what we expected, and we have China,” he said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in this regard that “there will be no new cold war with China, but we must face the challenges posed by China to our security.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged on Monday to maintain NATO’s dialogue with China and Russia, but at the same time urged “not to be naive” about the global position of these two countries.
“With China we must not be naive. It is crucial that we discuss China but at the same time we must maintain dialogue with China, and maintain an open relationship because we are all part of the world. And of course we are concerned about Russia. With Russia we need pressure. but also the dialogue, also between NATO and Russia, but we should not be naive at all, “Rutte said.
Asked if, as French President Emmanuel Macron assured, in 2019, Rutte said that without the Alliance it is “almost impossible” to be able to protect citizens, which should be one of the governments’ priorities.
“This is also true for Canada and the United States: Russia gaining more influence in this part of the world (Europe) is not in North America’s interest. We are all committed to the cornerstone of our collective defense. In the run-up to this meeting there is a clear understanding of the need for NATO and I believe that today we will see that commitment reaffirmed, “he said.
The G7 countries meeting in the UK over the weekend berated China for human rights in the Xinjiang region, called for Hong Kong to maintain a high degree of autonomy and demanded a full investigation into the origins of the coronavirus in China.
The Chinese embassy in London said it strongly opposed the mentions of Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, which it said distorted the facts and exposed the “sinister intentions of some countries like the United States.”
“China’s reputation should not be slandered,” the embassy said Monday.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that China’s growing military presence, from the Baltic to Africa, means that NATO must be prepared.
“China is getting closer to us. We see them in cyberspace, we see China in Africa. But we also see China investing heavily in our own critical infrastructure,” he said, referring to ports and telecommunications networks. “We have to respond together as an alliance.”
Russia, NATO’s uncomfortable neighbor
Washington keeps the Asian giant at the center of its concerns, but Europeans are more focused on the difficult relationship with Russia.
For NATO’s European core, the “number one priority” in defining a long-term strategy is a deep reflection on Russia.
Stoltenberg noted that “we want to send an important message to Moscow: we are united and Russia will not succeed in dividing us.”
From the perspective of European countries, the decision of the United States and Russia to abandon treaties on the control of nuclear forces leaves the region more vulnerable.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel cited the “challenges” from Russia and China among the issues that NATO leaders will address this Monday at the summit in Brussels.
“On the agenda will be the issues that concern us all, the challenges we face: Russia but also the Indo-Pacific region, with the rise of China,” Merkel said upon the arrival of what will be her last NATO summit, before the elections next September.
The chancellor stressed that “hybrid challenges are of special importance”, among which she cited cyberattacks and “of course Russia’s disinformation campaigns”, to which “Germany has also been affected.”
He also mentioned the situation in Ukraine, where “we also see great challenges”, as well as in Belarus “where human rights are trampled on.”
A day before the summit, Biden said that Russia may be “weaker than it appears.” When asked at a press conference why Putin – who has served as Russia’s supreme leader since Boris Yeltsin resigned in 1999 – has not changed despite years of Western sanctions, Biden joked: “This is Vladimir Putin.”
“Autocrats have enormous power and they don’t have to respond to an audience, and the fact is, if I respond in the same way, as I will, that might not deter him, he wants to move on,” Biden said.
Biden described Russia, whose economy is 13 times smaller than that of the United States, as weaker than might be perceived.
“Russia has its own dilemmas, how to deal with its economy, COVID and not only with the United States and Europe for the long haul, but also in the Middle East,” he said.
“Russia has engaged in activities that we believe are contrary to international standards, but they have also bit into some real problems that they are going to have trouble chewing,” he added.
What about Afghanistan?
Another subject of permanent tension in NATO discussions is the role of Turkey, a difficult ally that could nonetheless play a central role in the immediate future in Afghanistan.
Before after two decades, Turkey anticipated being willing to assume the security of the Kabul airport, an essential piece in any scenario.
Therefore, during the meeting Biden intends to have a direct meeting with the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the issue.
Biden and his NATO allies also sought to rebuild their unity in relation to Afghanistan, after the Trump administration announced its withdrawal from that country without consulting the other members of the military alliance.
“The withdrawal of NATO troops does not mean the end of our relations with Afghanistan,” NATO said in its final statement.
The alliance leaders noted that NATO will continue to provide “training and financial support to the Afghan national defense and security forces” and that they will maintain “an office of the High Civilian Representative in Kabul to continue diplomatic engagement and strengthen our partnership.”
In particular, NATO is ready to contribute resources to “ensure the continued operation” of Kabul International Airport.
“A new chapter”
With this summit “we open a new chapter” in the history of the military alliance, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the opening of the proceedings.
US President Joe Biden, for his part, reiterated on Monday his intention to “revitalize” the relationship within the powerful military alliance, with the aim of overcoming the tensions that arose during the administration of his predecessor Donald Trump.
Upon his arrival at the Alliance headquarters, Biden also stressed that the organization is “very important” to the interests of his country, and made it clear that Article 5 on collective defense, the cornerstone of NATO, remains as a “sacred obligation”.
“I want to be very clear: NATO is of paramount importance to our interests and in itself,” said the US president. “I want all of Europe to know that the United States is there.”
Unlike all the other leaders, who walked into NATO headquarters to make quick statements, the huge convoy with the US president headed to the other end of the compound and Biden entered through a side access.
Merkel “welcomed” US President Joe Biden, for whom this is her first summit, and the German leader said “we are glad of our common work” with the United States.
In a video recorded in the German Marshall Found broadcast prior to her arrival at NATO, the German leader spoke of the “unbreakable core” of the transatlantic relationship and the “belief that together we are stronger.”
The sensitive issue of NATO funding was also present in the discussions.
The matter erupted when Trump complained bitterly and publicly that European countries were not providing enough funds for NATO, and since then the discussion has hardly been kept quiet.
In total, 21 countries in Europe are members of NATO, but only eight have fulfilled the commitment to allocate 2% of their GDP to military spending, a goal that in times of global health crisis seems far from reality.
Stoltenberg even launched an initiative for the military alliance to be endowed with common funds in order to “spend more and better.”
The idea received the support of Germany, a country that does not allocate 2% of its GDP to defense, and strong criticism from France, which does.
Although Biden lowered the angry tone used by Trump to claim the tone used by Trump to claim the European financial contribution, but he must also pressure European countries and Canada to reach the goal of 2%.
With information from AFP, EFE and Reuters
