Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
NATO headquarters in Brussels said through a statement that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will travel to Lithuania on Monday, on the eve of the two-day summit of NATO leaders. Stoltenberg will meet on the same day with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister of Sweden to end Turkish intransigence towards Sweden obtains membership in the alliance, and the Secretary-General will try to bridge views and resolve contentious issues, in preparation for announcing Ankara's approval of Sweden's accession to the alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, in his review of the Vilnius summit with the participation of the leaders of the alliance countries, which will be held on the eleventh and twelfth of this month, that the meeting of the allied leaders "will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russian aggression will not bear fruit."
I expect allied leaders to agree to a three-component package, bringing Ukraine closer to NATO,” Mr. Stoltenberg said, speaking from NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday. The package will include a multi-year program of assistance to ensure interoperability; improved political relations – with President Zelensky in attendance. The inaugural meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council; and the reaffirmation that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, with unity on how Ukraine can bring it closer to its goal.
The Allies will also take major steps to strengthen deterrence and defense, by adopting three new regional defense plans to counter the two main threats to NATO: Russia and terrorism. The plans will support 300,000 troops in a higher state of readiness, including a large air and sea combat force.
Allies are also expected to adopt a Defense Production Action Plan to "accumulate demand, enhance capacity, and increase interoperability" and a more ambitious defense investment pledge to invest at least 2% of GDP per year in defence. The Secretary-General welcomed that new NATO defense spending estimates, released today, show a real increase of 8.3% for European allies and Canada in 2023. “This is the largest increase in decades, and the ninth consecutive year of increases in our defense spending,” the Secretary-General said. So European allies and Canada have invested over an additional $450 billion since we agreed our Defense Investment Pledge in 2014."
The leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, as well as the European Union, are also attending the Vilnius summit. The Secretary-General noted that this will be Finland's first summit as a NATO ally, adding: "We look forward to Sweden joining as soon as possible." After a constructive meeting of senior officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland last Thursday, Mr. Stoltenberg will meet with President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Kristerson in Vilnius on July 10, as the next step.