A key NATO summit will begin on Tuesday in Vilnius, Lithuania where matters like Ukraine’s war and NATO’s membership will be addressed.
State of play: The meeting comes amidst Ukraine’s “slower than desired” counteroffensive and renewed bid to join NATO.
* NATO members are in agreement that Ukraine can eventually join the alliance, but not as soon as Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy hopes.
* U.S. President Biden commented that Ukraine isn’t ready for membership primarily because it would lead to NATO countries being at war with Russia.
Key memberships: Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership last year, with Finland successfully joining in April.
* Sweden’s bid has been blocked by Turkey due to concerns about Sweden’s stance on Kurdish militants.
* Turkish President Erdogan said he could approve of Sweden’s NATO membership if other European countries make a pathway for Turkey to join the EU.
Addressing Turkey-Sweden conflict: The main reason for Turkey’s resistance towards Sweden’s NATO involvement is because it harbors Kurdish separatists, whom Turkey has labelled as terrorists.
* Stockholm has toughened its stance against the Kurdish militant group, the PKK, but claims it can’t go any further in its actions.
* Turkish authorities see this as a moment of leverage for obtaining the F-16 fighter jets from the U.S.
Ukraine’s path to membership: NATO first proposed the idea of Ukraine joining in 2008.
* Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia has made its membership in NATO more urgent and plausible.
* U.S. President Biden mentioned that the U.S. would be ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in case of an armistice in the war.
Defense spending: NATO members agreed to increase their minimum defense spending to 2% of their national GDP by 2024.
* So far, only eight of the 31 countries have attained this target.
* NATO’s Secretary-General Stoltenberg reiterated that at the summit, allies will commit to a more ambitious defense investment pledge.
China’s role: Although not directly involved, China could have implications in NATO’s strategies.
* NATO leaders expressed concerns of a Ukraine-like scenario in Taiwan.
* NATO Secretary-General called on China to use its influence over Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
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