PISSING OFF PUTIN
Allies gathering in Washington, DC will announce robust new measures of support for Ukraine, says President Biden's aide Michael Carpenter, hoping it will prepare Kiev "to plug and play with the rest of the alliance."
BABA UMAR
TRT
People walk inside of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, which has been decorated with signage in preparation for the NATO Summit, Monday, July 8, 2024.
/ Photo: AP
Washington DC — NATO allies in Washington DC summit will announce new security pledges to Ukraine including creating a new military command in Germany that will help Kiev develop its future force before Ukraine is integrated into the trans-Atlantic military alliance, a senior US official has revealed.
"Allies will stand up a new NATO military command in Germany that will leverage NATO's institutional strengths to coordinate training and equipping and help Ukraine developments future force," Ambassador Michael Carpenter, Senior Advisor for Europe at the National Security Council, told media at the US State Department on Monday.
The United States is hosting the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, DC from July 9-11. President Joe Biden's special adviser, who was providing an overview of events, said the new command will leverage the bloc's institutional strengths to coordinate training and equipping and help Ukraine developments future force.
"Allies will also announce a pledge of security assistance to Ukraine. That will include up to 40 billion euro [$43.3B] in support over the next year. In addition, NATO will appoint a civilian senior representative in Kiev to act as a focal point for NATO engagement with Ukrainian authorities," he said.
Regarding what NATO allies will say about Ukraine's membership path in the summit declaration, Carpenter, said "The language will be clear and forceful."
The summit declaration "will recognise Ukraine's vital ongoing reform efforts and demonstrate allied support for Ukraine on its path to NATO membership."
Carpenter argued that Ukraine is making progress despite dire predictions, citing $61 billion in US support, $50 billion in loan agreed in recent G-7 summit and 20 bilateral security agreements that he said will help sustain Ukraine's future force.
"And that will be that bridge to membership… Ukraine will be fully ready one day to plug and play with the rest of the alliance," he added.
Biden is hosting 38 heads of delegations in the American capital for a historic summit to celebrate 75th anniversary of the NATO's founding.
That includes the leaders of 31 NATO allies, as well as NATO partners including Ukraine, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and the European Union.
Defence burden sharing
Regarding a 2006 NATO commitment that agreed each member country would commit a minimum of 2 percent of its GDP to defence spending, Carpenter said NATO allies are making significant investments in their defence and deterrence capabilities, especially since Biden administration took office.
"When the Biden administration took office, only nine allies were spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defence. Today, a record 23 allies are at or above the minimum level of 2 percent of GDP for defence spending, more than twice as many as in 2021, and nearly eight times higher than when allies first set this benchmark nearly a decade ago," he said.
Cumulative spending, or defence spending for European allies is also collectively exceeding the 2 percent spending mark for the first time, he said, "and these numbers are going to continue to improve."
He said the United States and allies will also announce new steps to strengthen Ukraine's air defences, "to help Ukraine continue to defend themselves and hopefully prevent the types of brutal attacks like the one that we just witnessed on the children's hospital."
"Together, the Washington summit will send a strong signal to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that if he thinks he can outlast the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine, he's dead wrong," the Biden adviser said.
Asked if there is a concern among the NATO members regarding possible administration change and ex-US president Donald Trump's unwillingness to cooperate with NATO as much as Biden current administration is, he said "there is broad bipartisan support for NATO and for Ukraine."
"We expect that to continue."
Ambassador Carpenter also discussed meetings in Ankara with Turkish officials earlier this month on NATO, Ukraine, Middle East, and bilateral cooperation counterterrorism issues, hailing Ankara's significant role in the bloc.
"Obviously Türkiye is a critical ally. They [Türkiye] sit at a very important juncture, both in terms of the Eastern Med, in terms of the South Caucasus, in terms of the Black Sea. What Türkiye has done with the Montreux Convention has been very important in terms of limiting Russian warships in the Black Sea. It's an important ally, and obviously we need to continue to have that conversation with our Turkish friends about this range of issues," he said.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be attending the three-day summit, with Türkiye's Communications Directorate saying that "views will be exchanged on the organisation's endeavors regarding deterrence and defence in the face of challenges and risks to the Alliance's geography, as well as the situation in Ukraine and assistance for that country."
Terrorism, one of the main threats to the alliance, will also be discussed, it added.
Washington DC — NATO allies in Washington DC summit will announce new security pledges to Ukraine including creating a new military command in Germany that will help Kiev develop its future force before Ukraine is integrated into the trans-Atlantic military alliance, a senior US official has revealed.
"Allies will stand up a new NATO military command in Germany that will leverage NATO's institutional strengths to coordinate training and equipping and help Ukraine developments future force," Ambassador Michael Carpenter, Senior Advisor for Europe at the National Security Council, told media at the US State Department on Monday.
The United States is hosting the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, DC from July 9-11. President Joe Biden's special adviser, who was providing an overview of events, said the new command will leverage the bloc's institutional strengths to coordinate training and equipping and help Ukraine developments future force.
"Allies will also announce a pledge of security assistance to Ukraine. That will include up to 40 billion euro [$43.3B] in support over the next year. In addition, NATO will appoint a civilian senior representative in Kiev to act as a focal point for NATO engagement with Ukrainian authorities," he said.
Regarding what NATO allies will say about Ukraine's membership path in the summit declaration, Carpenter, said "The language will be clear and forceful."
The summit declaration "will recognise Ukraine's vital ongoing reform efforts and demonstrate allied support for Ukraine on its path to NATO membership."
Carpenter argued that Ukraine is making progress despite dire predictions, citing $61 billion in US support, $50 billion in loan agreed in recent G-7 summit and 20 bilateral security agreements that he said will help sustain Ukraine's future force.
"And that will be that bridge to membership… Ukraine will be fully ready one day to plug and play with the rest of the alliance," he added.
Biden is hosting 38 heads of delegations in the American capital for a historic summit to celebrate 75th anniversary of the NATO's founding.
That includes the leaders of 31 NATO allies, as well as NATO partners including Ukraine, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and the European Union.
Defence burden sharing
Regarding a 2006 NATO commitment that agreed each member country would commit a minimum of 2 percent of its GDP to defence spending, Carpenter said NATO allies are making significant investments in their defence and deterrence capabilities, especially since Biden administration took office.
"When the Biden administration took office, only nine allies were spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defence. Today, a record 23 allies are at or above the minimum level of 2 percent of GDP for defence spending, more than twice as many as in 2021, and nearly eight times higher than when allies first set this benchmark nearly a decade ago," he said.
Cumulative spending, or defence spending for European allies is also collectively exceeding the 2 percent spending mark for the first time, he said, "and these numbers are going to continue to improve."
He said the United States and allies will also announce new steps to strengthen Ukraine's air defences, "to help Ukraine continue to defend themselves and hopefully prevent the types of brutal attacks like the one that we just witnessed on the children's hospital."
"Together, the Washington summit will send a strong signal to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that if he thinks he can outlast the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine, he's dead wrong," the Biden adviser said.
Asked if there is a concern among the NATO members regarding possible administration change and ex-US president Donald Trump's unwillingness to cooperate with NATO as much as Biden current administration is, he said "there is broad bipartisan support for NATO and for Ukraine."
"We expect that to continue."
Ambassador Carpenter also discussed meetings in Ankara with Turkish officials earlier this month on NATO, Ukraine, Middle East, and bilateral cooperation counterterrorism issues, hailing Ankara's significant role in the bloc.
"Obviously Türkiye is a critical ally. They [Türkiye] sit at a very important juncture, both in terms of the Eastern Med, in terms of the South Caucasus, in terms of the Black Sea. What Türkiye has done with the Montreux Convention has been very important in terms of limiting Russian warships in the Black Sea. It's an important ally, and obviously we need to continue to have that conversation with our Turkish friends about this range of issues," he said.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be attending the three-day summit, with Türkiye's Communications Directorate saying that "views will be exchanged on the organisation's endeavors regarding deterrence and defence in the face of challenges and risks to the Alliance's geography, as well as the situation in Ukraine and assistance for that country."
Terrorism, one of the main threats to the alliance, will also be discussed, it added.
SOURCE: TRT WORLD
Baba Umar
Baba Umar is an Executive Producer with TRT World
No comments:
Post a Comment