{"id":1969405,"date":"2023-07-11T08:23:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T12:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-hopes-for-united-alliance-as-crucial-nato-summit-begins-in-lithuania\/"},"modified":"2023-07-11T08:24:37","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T12:24:37","slug":"biden-hopes-for-united-alliance-as-crucial-nato-summit-begins-in-lithuania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-hopes-for-united-alliance-as-crucial-nato-summit-begins-in-lithuania\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden seeks &#8216;united&#8217; alliance at vital NATO summit in Lithuania."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-hopes-for-united-alliance-as-crucial-nato-summit-begins-in-lithuania%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1969405&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<p>VILNIUS, Lithuania\u2014U.S. President Joe Biden embarks on a series of meetings with world leaders on Tuesday at a \u201cconsequential\u201d North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a historic moment,\u201d Biden told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during their meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re looking for a continued united NATO,\u201d Mr. Biden said, confidently asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s attempts to divide the alliance will ultimately fail.<\/p>\n<p>Biden emphasized the significance of adding Finland and Sweden to NATO, stating that it is a &#8220;consequential&#8221; move. He also expressed his support for a plan that would allow Ukraine to join the alliance in the future.<\/p>\n<p>The high-stakes summit, scheduled for July 11\u201312, brings together leaders from the alliance\u2019s 31 member countries to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-hopes-for-united-alliance-as-crucial-nato-summit-begins-in-lithuania\/\" title=\"Biden seeks 'united' alliance at vital NATO summit in Lithuania.\">discuss crucial global security challenges<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5388313\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/07\/11\/id5388313-Biden_NAT03.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n    NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) and U.S. President Joe Biden give a statement before the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds\/AFP via Getty Images)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>Here\u2019s what the U.S. president hopes to accomplish during the two-day summit:<\/p>\n<h2>2 Percent Spending Target<\/h2>\n<p>According to the White House, this year\u2019s Vilnius summit will address the goal of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-christmas-gift-to-voters-is-helping-democrats-pass-a-major-omnibus-spending-bill\/\" title=\"Republicans\u2019 Christmas Gift To Voters Is Helping Democrats Pass A Major Omnibus Spending Bill\">raising defense spending<\/a> by member countries, which has been a major U.S. objective for several years.<\/p>\n<p>NATO countries committed nearly a decade ago to increase defense spending to 2 percent of their GDP. However, only seven countries\u2014the United States, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the UK\u2014met the 2 percent requirement last year.<\/p>\n<p>Washington aims to make the 2 percent goal a minimum requirement rather than a maximum limit, and the Vilnius summit is expected to initiate that discussion, as stated by White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan during his briefing on July 11 in Vilnius.<\/p>\n<p>NATO defense spending has risen by approximately 30 percent since Russia&#8217;s annexation of Crimea in 2014. However, the commitment made in Wales at the 2014 summit to increase spending expires next year, so the United States wants allies to commit to further investments during this year\u2019s summit.<\/p>\n<p>The three Baltic countries\u2014Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia\u2014have already pledged to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/charles-lipson-fourteen-lessons-from-russias-war-on-ukraine\/\" title=\"Charles Lipson: Fourteen Lessons From Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine\">raise defense spending<\/a> to 3 percent of GDP. In response to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Poland has also announced plans to increase its defense budget to 4 percent of GDP.<\/p>\n<p>One significant obstacle, however, is that eurozone countries have agreed not to run large budget deficits. Therefore, the goals being discussed at the NATO summit may be unrealistic for many Western European countries, particularly Spain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to invest more in our defense. And we will be adding a new defense investment pledge where we stated that 2 percent of GDP for defense is a minimum,\u201d Mr. Stoltenberg said during his meeting with Mr. Biden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the good news is that the European Allies and Canada are stepping up this year,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5388318\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/07\/11\/id5388318-Biden-Nato1.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n    (L-R) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, U.S. President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attend the first day of the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11, 2023. (Sean Gallup\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<h2>Ukraine Tops the Agenda<\/h2>\n<p>According to the White House, Ukraine will be a major focus of this year\u2019s summit, with allies engaging in discussions about security guarantees, the country\u2019s future membership, and assistance to the war-torn nation. However, there are significant differences among allies regarding Ukraine\u2019s eventual membership.<\/p>\n<p>The United States, Germany, and the southern NATO partners have taken a more cautious approach to Ukraine\u2019s membership, while the Baltic states and Eastern European nations like Poland hold a more assertive stance.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the wide spectrum of views among allies, observers anticipate a middle-ground agreement to be reached during the Vilnius summit.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine formally applied to join the alliance last year, but Mr. Biden has repeatedly stated in recent days that Ukraine cannot join until its conflict with Russia is resolved, citing Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The treaty establishes the principle of collective defense, which means that any attack on a NATO member \u201cshall be considered an attack against them all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During a recent interview with CNN, Mr. Biden expressed his belief that the war with Russia must come to an end before NATO can admit Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a commitment that we\u2019ve all made, no matter what. If the war is going on, then we\u2019re all in war. We\u2019re at war with Russia if that were the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Biden also emphasized the need for the United States and NATO allies to present a \u201crational path\u201d for Ukraine to qualify for membership in the military alliance.<\/p>\n<p>The White House also indicated that Ukraine could receive \u201cIsrael-style\u201d security guarantees in its fight against Russia.<\/p>\n<p>That means the United States would \u201cprovide various forms of military assistance, intelligence and information sharing, cyber support and other forms of material support so that Ukraine can effectively defend itself against Russian aggression,\u201d Mr. Sullivan explained.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VILNIUS, Lithuania\u2014President Biden commences crucial talks with global leaders at a significant NATO summit in Vilnius. Describing it as a historic occasion, Biden emphasizes the importance of a united NATO during a meeting with Secretary General Stoltenberg. He stresses the need for continued unity while addressing Russian President Putin&#8217;s actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":531,"featured_media":1969406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1969405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1969405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/531"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1969405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1969405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1969406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1969405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1969405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1969405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}