NATO summit to begin in Washington

The US will host leaders of NATO member states and selected partners in Washington D.C. from today.

During the three-day summit, US President Joe Biden will meet with other NATO leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. This summit marks NATO’s 75th anniversary and Sweden will officially be welcomed as the alliance’s 32nd member.

Apart from the celebrations, the NATO leaders will discuss the ongoing threat of Russia, both in its war of aggression against Ukraine and by means of hybrid attacks against Western countries, as well as perceived long-term threats stemming from China. NATO is also likely to unveil updates to its strategies in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

NATO will also seek to move closer to some of its non-member partners. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will also attend and meet with Biden in a trilateral summit on the sidelines.

While the summit will likely see another joint declaration and seek to project an image of unity, the alliance also has to deal with ongoing friction. Following Hungary taking over the rotational presidency of the Council of the EU last week, Prime Minister Victor Orban travelled to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a move heavily criticized by other EU and NATO members.